#sorry for the bad lighting the main light in my bedroom went out

[elabelll]

I’m gonna fucking scream

[vxiphoid]

RAINY REVERIE

❨ summary ❩ obey me › things they would do to cheer you up. hearts and minds have a tendency to break when there are too many thoughts in your head at once, how would they help?

tags ✧ nb!reader, established relationship, reader is going through it😞, slightly suggestive in lucifer’s part?, IM SORRY IF YOU HAVE A CAT ALLERGY (mammon), idol slander, bathing together, itty bitty angst in belphie’s.

amanuensis’ message ⊹ i tried to make the reader a bit different for each brother because people deal with being upset differently… but hello?? theres like 130 of you now, tysm for all of the support, i love you all sm sm :(<33

⌜ 2.5+ ⌟

obey me masterlist

LUCIFER

♫ wishful thinking - benee

╰ he understands more than anyone how stressful school or work can be. doesn’t help that rad piles more shit on as you advance. he’s offered to give you a message, pressing small kisses in his wake before smearing oil onto your skin.

“you did so well today.” lucifer praises gently against your skin, thumbing the junction between your shoulder blades. you sigh contentedly as he massages into your muscles with ease, his fingers brushing your skin in gentle strokes to help ease out the knots and tension that have accumulated over the day. you inhale sharply at the contact, and a small smile quirks up the corners of your mouth when you hear him hum happily at your reaction. “your hands feel good, not that i don’t like the feeling of your gloves, your hands just feel better. i like your hands on me.” you murmur, leaning further back into his touch, basking in his affectionate caress. there was a stutter in lucifer’s movements as he stiffened momentarily before relaxing once more, but it didn’t deter his hand from its progress. “well, i know that… i figured i take my gloves off a lot in your company since you like the feeling of them so much.” he murmurs, sounding slightly embarrassed by his own statement as he continues to massage at your shoulders. he makes sure his thumbs are positioned correctly on either side of your spine, his touch feather light. “i thought this was pure?” you ask teasingly, peering over your shoulder. lucifer gives you an unamused look, pushing harder into the small of your back which elicits another soft sigh from you. “this is pure. you’re tainting it.”

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MAMMON

♫ (your cat) don’t stand a chance - mustard service

╰ last thing he wants is you going to bed angry or upset in any way. even if it isn’t his fault he still feels like he needs to spoil you to make it better? so, he gets you something. in a box, a big box. yk nothing bad, just something he prolly shouldn’t have bought…

“heeey, pretty… so i know you’re having a really bad day ‘n shit but how would you feel if i brought you a cat?” mammon asked, stiffly pushing open his bedroom door with his shoulder, a light looking box in his arms. you eye him, hard. “what’s in the box, mammon.” the mewls of protest from within spoke for itself. when you bursted into his room clearly pissed off, mammon was already on his way out, kissing you and promising he’d be right back he just needed to grab some stuff. by stuff you didn’t think he’d be at the pet store buying a kitten, especially this breed. maine cats are expensive, he even went out of his way to buy toys and the necessities. you thought you would have been mad about it, but you couldn’t bring yourself to be as the little baby ran around trying to catch a feather you swung around. the kitten finds rest in mammon’s mess of hair, likes to be carried around in hoodie pockets, and makes biscuits with it’s beans on your back. you couldn’t be mad at all, both the small fur ball and your boyfriend cleared all the stress you had. mammon lied down beside you in the floor, watching you jerk around the stick for the kitten to tail, he rests his head your shoulder. “you feelin’ better?” you nod with a natural smile and he kisses your shoulder. “good.” you say nothing, instead you pull him close and cuddle together on the floor, the kitten pawing mammon’s head before curling up for a nap. you smile, holding out your pinky. “don’t tell satan?” mammon takes your finger, pressing your thumb with his. “‘course not.”

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LEVIATHAN

♫ honey - red hearse

╰ levi was already dressed for a midnight walk when you came in, he figured you needed one too just to clear your mind. helps you put on your shoes and jacket while you rant about how horrible your day was, kisses your cheek while you two leave the house.

your boyfriend treats this like any other day, not in an ignoring way, no. he figures he’d rather listen to your rant then try to see the other person’s (asshole) side. in plus, if you get it all out of your system, you won’t be so pent up. he buys you your regular drink and holds it for you while you express your anger with your hands, bringing the straw to your mouth when you need a pause. “—and it wasn’t even my shift!” you huff, sipping your drink when levi brings it to you. “thank you, i love you. anyways, this bitch—“ you could go on and on for hours and he wouldn’t get tired of hearing your voice. eventually he’d tug you into one of those 24 hour cafes and request an outdoor seating area, preferably where there isn’t people. when your rant seemingly comes to a close, your forehead meets with levi’s shoulder with a heavy sigh. he kisses your crown, “d’you want anything off the menu? they still serve breakfast if you want any.” he smiles when you nod. “thank you for listening, i know that was a lot. ‘just been stressed.” his hand slips into yours, kissing the back of it. “i’m here for you whenever.” and he means it. you know that levi would give you literally anything in the world, he’d do anything for you and the little things only add to how precious he is.

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SATAN

♫ structure - odd sweetheart

╰ satan is a ticking time bomb when he’s mad, he may look okay but one minor inconvenience will send him over the edge. the plus side is that he knows most of the methods that could calm anyone down. those methods are watching really bad shows and their cringy acting.

the click of the spacebar signaled that you paused the show for the ninth time tonight, the silence loud between you and satan as you both stared at the blinding screen. his expression mirrored yours; slightly gaped mouth, squinted eyes, and meeting a glance before they returned to the frozen show. “she didn’t just kiss her husband to be’s brother after having a one night stand with their father…” he said quietly in disbelief. “on her wedding day.” you mumbled, forking around your takeout noodles in its cup. satan opened his mouth and you fed him some, treating yourself quickly afterwards. “y’all would watch anything at this point, kill your producer!” you and satan have been bingeing this horrible romance show for so long you completely forgot what time you even started watching it. its so ridiculous, not worse than idol, but still horrible. satan, on the other hand, was just glad you were enjoying yourself after a soiled day. you catch his eye and grin slightly, “what?” he shrugs with his mouth, turning back to the show. “nothing.” “mm, you want something, what is it?” you prodded again, leaning forward and giving him an inquisitive stare. you were sure you weren’t getting an answer by the way he was twirling his fork, so you leaned into him, brushing his hair away to press a kiss to his jaw, that caught his attention. “thank you, satan. for cheering me up.” you whispered to him sweetly. his lips curled up at the edges. “anything for you, love.” your eyes dart back to the screen after what you thought you saw actually happened. “she’s making out with their dad now?! go back, go back!!”

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ASMODEUS

♫ bad behavior - austin mills & remi wolf

╰ he knew that as soon as you walked into his room silent something was wrong. he just got out of the shower and you hugged him. you hugged him tighter than you usually do, and he noticed. he’s never seen you so deflated, tears filling your lash line. fortunately, asmo knows the perfect way to calm you down.

“okay baby, do you want hot pink or pink?” your eyes flick between the two headbands from your spot on the bathroom counter. you know they’re basically the same color, but it doesn't stop you from trying to guess which one is cuter. “hot pink.” you say finally, nodding in the direction of the headband in asmo’s right hand. “correct answer, you weren’t allowed to choose anything else.” asmo slips on your fuzzy headband and you snort as he carefully adjusted it on your head. “why’d you ask then?” you tease. asmo shrugs, leaning in closer to press a quick kiss under your eye. “so we can match!” after your emotional feeling day, your boyfriend suggested you join him in his skincare to take your mind off of everything for a bit. you agreed immediately, happy at the opportunity. you’ve been so stressed lately, working part time at a small coffee shop near campus while attending classes full time, and not having time to spend quality time with your boyfriend made you feel like you had let him down. you were grateful he was offering to help you out though. asmo’s finger hooked under your chin, using a silicone spatula to smear on a cool peel off mask onto your other cheek. you instinctively wrap your legs around his waist and he grins, pecking your lips before getting back to work on your mask. little whisps of champagne hair escaped from his headband, his tongue sticking from the side of his mouth while the mask between his brows crinkled in concentration. asmo always did this whenever he focused particularly hard, so you didn’t interrupt him even if he did start to ramble about something or another. you couldn’t get enough of watching him make himself so at peace with his surroundings. your lips meet his palm gently, and he quickly got the paragraph hidden behind such a small act. “you’re welcome, baby.”

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BEELZEBUB

♫ grey luh - berhana

╰ beel knows that even himself needs a bit of time alone before he’s ready for any interaction so he let’s you have you’re time. while he waits, beel prepares a bath of pure relaxation. scented candles, various different bath bombs, and even one of those bath tables.

you groan exasperatedly as beel lifts you from the warm embrace of your duvets, “i know, i know, i’m sorry. you can go back to bed in a minute…” he assures you, his voice soft and droopy. you’re about to protest but he shushes you by kissing you softly on the lips. “i know you need this.” with that you stop your whining and hum quietly, accepting a loving defeat. you were already starting to nod off against beel’s chest til your nose caught whiff of vanilla and the cold tiles of the bathroom under your feet as he set you down. the bath was filled with crystal clear water, a blue tint shimmering over the liquid due to the relaxing lighting. there were candles and various oils and body washes littering the shelves of the bathtub with a scent that was both sweet and refreshing at the same time. it was almost overwhelming in its complexity but it was also perfect because beel always made sure everything had an effect that would make you happy, calm, relax. “your week has been stressful so i wanted to make you something even it it isn’t a lot.” you smile brightly up at him, eyes shining with love for him despite still having bags underneath them, which he brushes away with another tender kiss. you already began to strip, your bones were aching for warm bubbling water on your skin. “just relax, okay? i’ll take care of you and we can go back to bed after dinner.” you pause just as you dip your leg into the water, “you’re not joining me?” beel blinks at you owlishly, mouth opening and closing a few times as if trying to find words, “you wanted me to join?” you blink back at him, confused until he finally says something intelligible again, “yes? why wouldn’t i want you to join me?” he smiles at you, a small and gentle curve of his lips that you couldn’t help smiling back at him. he wastes no time settling down behind you, your body immediately melting into his, the heat radiating out of him and warming you up like never before. “better?” he questions, hand rubbing your back soothingly, his other arm wrapped snugly around your waist. your head rested on his shoulder, arms loosely wrapping around his own torso. “absolutely. thank you.”

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BELPHEGOR

♫ valentina - dreamer isioma

╰ usually naps off his anger or sadness, basically letting it build up silently, naps do help him but he knows that naps won’t erase anybody’s pain in, like, two hours. belphie makes you a little care package; essential oils, sugar scrub, candles, sweets, blanket, plushies, melatonin gummies for the sleepless nights, headphones, etc… it was a rare sight seeing belphie out of bed and productive, instead your roles being swapped.

the attic’s stairs creaked as belphie ascended to where you were curled up on his bed. he approaches slowly, stretching his neck out a bit to check if you were sleeping. fortunately, you were not. “hey, babe? i got you something…” belphie muttered. you turned your head slightly, the glow from your d.d.d illuminating your face. belphie sat down next to you, laying out what was clearly a care package on a bedside table. the colors were subtle, a nice slightly desaturated blue with white accents for bows on the bag, few constellations littered the design. “you didn’t need to waste your money on me, belph.” you sigh, holding his face in your hand, belphie leans into your touch. “it wasn’t a waste. you’ve worked so hard.” he smiles as he kisses your palm. “plus, nothing’s a waste if its for you.” there was some static in the room, it made the atmosphere even more intimate. belphie rests his head against yours, taking a deep breath in. you smelled nice, and belphie felt immensely calm. “do you want anything else, hun? i could cook dinner…” belphie trails off, rubbing circles onto your arm. he feels you shake your head, “you’re more than enough. i’ll open the gift in a second, promise, just need you.” belphie kisses the top of your head, resting his cheek on top of it. there was static again, the feeling only growing more prominent as he pressed a kiss to your temple, “i love you.” you turn slightly to face belphie, placing your lips against his, they were soft, sweet, and tasted like honey and vanilla. you felt the tension plaguing your body ebb away, you relaxed into your lover. belphie pulls back, pressing another chaste kiss on your forehead, “i love you the most.”

[the-atlas-sister]

Iᖴ OᑎᒪY ᖴOᖇ YOᑌ (ᗩᗪᑌᒪT!ᗰEGᑌᗰI ᙭ ᗩᖴᗩᗷ!ᖇEᗩᗪEᖇ)

Warnings!: Rotten, rotten fluff, slight suggestive themes, poverty ig?

***

"Excuse me?"

Your eyes go wide as you stare at your employer. Well... previous employer.

"I'm sorry Y/n, but we can't afford to keep you on anymore," she said, giving you that stupid, pathetic, pitiful smile. "You know how much you've done for our company but we need more experienced employees.

"More experienced?" you asked softly, still in shock from the words.

"Older," the woman corrected, straightening out a stack of papers on her desk. "You're just too young and we can't afford to keep you on our team Y/n."

"I don't understand," you mumbled, shaking your head lightly. "I've been a part of your business since I graduated, that's two years. I've worked diligently, never asked for a raise in pay and the families love me."

"I'm sorry, we just can't afford you," she repeated.

Your eyes went wide. That was it? They couldn't afford you?

"I'll need your desk packed up by the hour," she stated, standing from her desk and walking around you. "You understand, don't you?"

You stared blankly at your hands, the small ring on your finger shining almost mockingly.

The woman looked over your shoulder at the ring. "You just got engaged right? We'll send you a gift, almost like a thank you for all your work."

***

You stared blankly at the cement sidewalk as you walked, your previous employer's words echoing in your head.

You just got engaged right? We'll send you a gift, almost like a thank you for all your work.

They can afford to send you a gift, but not to employ you. Bullshit. You sighed softly, approaching the dingy apartment building you and your fiance lived in. You slowly made your way up the stairs until you reached your apartment. You fished for the keys in your purse, fumbling with them.

"Fuck," you swore as your keys fell to the floor. You groaned, putting down your box full of things from your office and grabbing your keys once more. You unlocked the door and kicked it open, dragging the box in behind you.

"Megumi!" you called, kicking the box into the corner and throwing the keys on the table. "I have some bad news..."

You looked up from the table, furrowing your brows at the lack of response from your fiance. "Megs?" you asked, wandering into your shared bedroom. You looked around, confused about where he could have been.

You notice a small sticky note at the edge of the neatly made bed. You slowly approached the bed, picking the note up.

Meet me at **** **St ****

-Megumi

"Hm," you hummed, flipping the note over. That was it, an address and nothing else. "Weird," you mumbled.

***

"Are you serious?" you mumbled to yourself as you approached a large old house. It had yellow chipping paint and a crumbling roof. Despite the crumbling appearance and obvious decay, it was beautiful. The overgrown greenery and small fountains and bridge leading to the front door only added to the romance of it.

You carefully walked across the small stone bridge to the open front door. You walked in quietly, looking around the building. The entrance room was large and the noise of dripping water filled your ears. Fairy lights hung from the rafters and a few small candles lined the large flight of stairs in the middle of the room.

"Oh my god," you whispered, approaching the staircase.

"You like it?"

You turned around to find Megumi standing in the doorway with a small but shy smile on his face. You let out a small sigh, making his eyes go wide.

"Just hear me out, okay?" he said quickly, approaching you and holding your hands. "Just imagine pictures all through the halls, and- and a big chandelier, right there." He guided you to the middle of the main room, pointing at a large hole in the ceiling. "And- and we could add a library or your very own office." You looked around the house with an awestruck expression. You felt him wrap his arms around your waist and his hands gripping your hips. "Imagine it, just me and you make our mark on every inch of this house," his voice low and suggestive in your ear.

"Did you buy this house?" you whispered, gazing at Megumi with wide eyes.

"I did," Megumi said shyly. "I figured we needed somewhere new to start our new life together." He gripped your hands softly, looking down at you with a smile.

You felt tears well in your eyes, guilt building in the pit of your stomach at the way he gazed lovingly down at you. "I got fired," you whispered, tears beginning to spill down your cheeks. "I'm sorry Megs." You sniffed and wiped the tears from your eyes.

"Don't apologize," Megumi cooed, cupping your cheeks and gently wiping away your tears. "It's okay, it's okay." He pressed his forehead against your own softly. "You'll get another job, I'll get a second job, we'll... ask Gojo for money if we need to." He grimaced at the idea of asking his guardian for money.

You couldn't help but laugh softly at his disgusted face. "You hate asking Gojo for things," you chuckled.

Megumi smiled softly at your laugh. "I do, yes, but if that's what we need to do to make our dream come true, I'll do it," he said gently. "I'd do anything to make them come true."

"I love you," you whispered, leaning forward and kissing his lips.

"I love you more," he whispered back against your lips.

Tags: elementalbear angrysmolbean kissmartinazz riaki star-toruu takashisbride baaka-asta neme-mimi my-loved-figure-skates baekinola crescentworld vivizsantiegoni10061999 whoskari furrydamm icedemon1314 mostusernamefr itsbabysposts fushigurosdevinedogs cottoncr3 crestoa wonderbat385 mikas-souls firstplaidpeachnickel

[lancermylove]

Chapter 4 (N.SFW)

➣ Pairing: Demon brothers, Royals, Solomon with fem!Reader. ➣ Warning: N.SFW ➣ Word Count: 3,366 ➣ Chapters [SFW]: [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] ➣ Chapters [N.SFW]: [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

➣ A/N: I was very tired - so tired that I almost accidentally deleted the entire draft - when I wrote this, so hopefully, it turned out well. 😅

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The faintest morning light filtered through the window blinds, but you lay awake in bed. Unable to fall asleep again, you got ready and quietly went downstairs, trying to keep the wooden floorboards creaking to a minimum, to find the living area empty. Someone had turned the fireplace off, but the early winter chill on the first level was rather refreshing. 'Hm? Is that...?' Through one of the windows, you noticed Satan pacing back and forth a short distance from the cabin.

The sky above the cabin was painted a brilliant orange as the sun slowly rose from behind the snowy mountains, casting long shadows as it ascended the sky. Satan's hair was illuminated by the sun's rays, giving it the appearance of a crown on his head. His skin was red, and his face was contorted with anger, as though he could not escape the freezing temperatures' bitter chill.

"Good morning, Satan. What's wrong?" You worriedly asked, but when he didn't reply, you continued. "You shouldn't stay out too long."

"Demons are far more powerful than frail humans," he rasped, his tone harsher than he meant, making you wince. It was unusual for him to behave that way with you, so something unexpected must have happened.

The fourth brother sighed after realizing he had taken his anger for his brother out on you. "My apologies, (y/n). After you and Beel left yesterday, Lucifer forced me to shift into his bedroom. It's bad enough that I have to live under the same roof as him, but now, I have to share a room."

"It's okay, Satan. Why did Lucifer force you to move?" You asked curiously but knew the first brother's actions always had a meaning behind them.

"Diavolo had no issues staying with Lucifer, but Barbatos said it would be better for him to stay with his royal highness," Satan fumed. "So, Lucifer asked me to vacate my room. I asked the others if they would switch with me, and Solomon only agreed. But, of course, Lucifer intervened."

The Avatar of Wrath faced you, folded his arms across his chest, and mimicked his older brother's voice. "I refuse to share a room with Solomon. His mere presence gives me a headache."

His impersonation made you chuckle, but there had to be a viable solution to his situation. "Do you want to take my room? I don't mind sharing a room with Lucifer."

"Absolutely not!" He exclaimed, eliciting a laugh from you. You expected that reaction from him but thought to ask anyway. Who were you kidding? You just wanted to see Satan's reaction to you rooming with the Avatar of Pride.

"Then, why don't you find a common ground with Lucifer? That way, you can enjoy spending time with him." You suggested in hopes that he would give in to your request. Once your words settled in his mind, Satan's face lit up. The dark aura of despair hovering around him gave way to one filled with excitement, and his arms tightly coiled around your frame.

"That's it! (Y/n), you are a genius."

"Thank you?" You mumbled, baffled by his sudden enthusiasm. "But what do you plan to do?"

"Since Lucifer can't get away from me, this is the perfect opportunity to prank him. Endlessly." He grinned and released you from his grip. Without waiting for your response, Satan powerwalked to the main door of the cabin, leaving you screaming in the background. "W-Wait! Satan, that's not what I meant."

You sighed heavily and slumped your shoulders, mumbling to yourself. "That was not what I meant, Satan. Sorry, Lucifer. I think I just made your problem worse. I will be in deep waters if Lucifer learns about this conversation."

"Good morning, (y/n). Would you kindly repeat what you said?" Barbatos whispered behind you. His sudden appearance startled you and left you wondering how he managed to stealthily approach you without emitting even a single crunch of the snow underfoot. The small curls on the corners of his lips seemed to indicate that he had knowledge of the occurrences before his appearance.

"Satan doesn't want to stay with Lucifer, and I tried to tell him to find common ground so he could enjoy his time with his older brother. But Satan interpreted that as 'prank Lucifer endlessly'," you exhaled loudly through your mouth. "If Lucifer finds out about this, I will be in trouble."

Unbeknownst to the two of you, Solomon stood near a window inside the cabin, sipping tea from a mug, and expressionlessly peered at you. Barbatos chuckled at your unfounded concern but remained silent. His dark emerald eyes analyzed every aspect of your demeanor, although his expression betrayed nothing of his thoughts or feelings. He seemed to be gauging your discomfort around him, which further heightened your unease.

"What reason could you possibly have for your discomfort?"

His direct inquiry caught you off guard, but you saw no point in concealing the truth from him as you knew he would see through your lies. You mumbled your response, your gaze fixed on your white boots layered with fresh snow, "Lucifer might have caught on. I am worried, Barbatos."

"Do not worry needlessly, (y/n)," he reassured. "Now, my dear, I implore you to return to the cabin. The weather is frigid, and I would rather you not fall ill."

"You can go ahead, and I will join you in a few minutes. I need some fresh air to clear my thoughts." You dully said.

"As you wish, but do not take longer than necessary. Then, I shall take my leave," Barbatos warmly smiled, and to your surprise, his smile reached his eyes. Was this the first time you saw his genuine smile? You couldn't remember but felt happy nevertheless.

After a while, you took his advice and headed back, only to see Mammon sneakily approaching the main door with an object hidden in his hand behind his back. Although you attempted to discern the words on the folded stack of black and blue packets, Mammon thwarted your efforts and slid them inside his jacket's pocket.

"Mammon, what are you doing?" You asked, suspecting he was up to no good. As you expected, he was startled by your presence but managed to give you a nervous smile. He was definitely up to no good, but you hoped his ill intention would not result in Lucifer severely punishing him.

"I ain't doin' anythin', and before ya ask, I'm sneakin' in 'cause I'm tryin' to avoid...Solomon," he laughed. "Are ya hungry? 'Cause I'm starvin'. Let's get breakfast!"

With those words, Mammon ran into the cabin, avoiding any other question you might have had for him. You shook your head, but before you could enter, Solomon blocked your path. "Are you alright, (y/n)? You seemed troubled."

It was evident that the sorcerer suspected you were hiding a secret and sought to hear it directly from you. Given the potential ramifications of divulging the truth, specifically with respect to Lucifer, you promptly shook your head. "It's nothing. I've to get ready to go shopping with Levi, so excuse me."

As his eyes followed you, Solomon smiled to himself. What were you hiding from him, and why were you nervous around Barbatos? But the most crucial question was: should he pry into the matter or leave it alone?

"Don't be nervous, Levi. There aren't many people around this time of the day," you chuckled and squeezed his hand slightly. Levi said nothing as he scanned the colorful store you had brought him to.

Every rack and shelf had an array of Christmas clothes in all shapes, sizes, and colors. The walls were adorned with tinsel, mistletoes, snowflake cutouts, and wreaths, creating a festive atmosphere that filled you with a sense of joy and excitement. However, the endless wave of bright colors made your eyes water. In the front right corner of the store stood a teenager with her caramel eyes glued on her phone, utterly oblivious to her surroundings. The loud music blasting from her earphones made it clear that she was lost in her own world. Not paying heed to her lack of awareness, you made your way to the center of the store.

"Hey, Levi, is this festive enough?" You asked while holding a hanger up to your shoulders. The sweater on the hanger had a multitude of colors and clashing patterns, with green reindeer and snowflakes scattered throughout.

"It looks like you purchased an entire Christmas store and glued it to the sweater. Then, found a unicorn and asked it to hurl sparkles on it. But that still wasn't enough for you, so you wrapped the sweater in green and red tinsel garland," Levi laughed.

"Descriptive," you giggled. "So, what do you think about buying ugly sweaters for everyone?"

"No way that Lucifer, Satan, Asmo, and Barbatos would wear them," Levi responded as he looked through the rack of sweaters closest to him until one caught his attention. The green sweater had an upside-down realistic pizza slice with green tinsel garland wrapped around it and a star on top. "Beel would like this and probably try to eat it."

"Oh, that's perfect of him! Then, why don't we change the theme from ugly sweaters to witty or relatable sweaters?" You smiled, proud of your quick thinking, to which he readily agreed.

The first red and green sweater you found was ideal for Asmo. The main body of the wear was a creative nod to the holiday season, playing with the idea of being on the nice or naughty list. The words "On the Nice List" were printed in large white letters, but 'Nice' was spelled in white sequins with a black background. But with one sweep of your hand, the sequins flipped to the word 'Naughty', reminding you of Asmo's playful nature.

When you showed Levi your choice, he could not stop fiddling with the sequins, fascinated by their ability to change with one touch. As he giddily flipped back and forth between nice and naughty, you found a mustard yellow sweater fitted for Belphagor. In the center was a sloth clad in a vibrant red sweater with a matching Santa hat as it dozed off on a snow-covered branch adorned with Christmas lights. The sloth's arms were intertwined in a position of contentment as the words Merry Slothmas hovered above and below in vermillion. The remainder of the empty place was adorned with deep blue Christmas trees and snowflakes and green ornaments with red swirls.

"(Y/n) look at this. Doesn't he remind you of Lucifer?" Levi laughed, holding a crimson sweater up for you. This dark red sweatshirt was accented with a black rectangular shape, which extended to the sleeves. Within the rectangular shape was a backdrop of vibrant Christmas string lights, adding a pop of color to the mostly dark outfit. In the center, the words "Is this jolly enough?" were written in the shape of a Christmas tree. With his grumpy expression, the Grinch stood beside it with a cup of coffee in his hand, wrapped in string lights, and a red Santa hat on his head.

"Lucifer as the Grinch," you whispered while imagining Lucifer as the grouch in your favorite part of the classic movie. Somehow, the Grinch's expression reminded you of the stern first brother, making you laugh. "It's perfect! I bet this is what he will look like on Christmas morning."

Your next targets were the prince and his butler. You selected a fiery crimson sweatshirt for Diavolo with white pine trees, snowflakes, and candy canes printed on it. In front of the festive designs was a vibrant green frustrated T-Rex with a Santa cap, gazing at gifts that lay beyond his stubby reach. His tiny arms tried to grasp the presents, while "T-Rex Hates Christmas" was painted upon the sweatshirt in striking white. Luckily, a sweatshirt ideal for Barbatos hung beside Diavolo's - even their sweatshirts came in a pair. Compared to the prince's, the butler's wear was far simpler - a ketchup-colored sweatshirt with random festive patterns and words in white that read "I Can Get You On The Naughty List."

As you turned around to place the sweatshirts on your 'selected' pile, you noticed a small opening in the back of the store leading to a smaller room. With a bit of caution, you approached the area and stepped inside, instantly turning crimson-faced at the scene you beheld. Though the room's tone didn't quite fit the wholesome and family-friendly atmosphere of the store, you ventured further in regardless.

One particularly explicit piece caught your attention, and though you were uncomfortable, you couldn't look away. The emerald green sweatshirt had an image of an upwards penis on it, but only the bottom of the shaft and balls were visible. The upper half of the length was missing, indicating the wearer of the sweatshirt was a dick. On cue, Leviathan entered the room and followed your gaze to the sweater. He instantly jumped back and averted his gaze as his face turned a deep shade of scarlet. What had he walked into, and why were you here?

A playful smirk appeared on your lips when you saw his red cheeks. Noticing another risque sweater, you picked up the hanger and held it in front of you. The cloth had a hole near the chest, and out peeked a plastic boob with a carrot nose on the nipple and googly eyes on top.

"Oh, Levi," you mischievously smiled, and the second he glanced in your direction, you gently pressed your hand on the plastic breast and fondled it. The color of Levi's face could have put a tomato to shame, but he managed to pry his eyes from you. Unfortunately for him, his gaze landed on a sweater with the words "Kiss Under the Mistletoe" with a mistletoe hanging near the hip area of the fabric.

The image of him wearing the sweatshirt as you kneeled down in front of him plagued his mind, but he frantically shook his head to stop his mind from imagining anything further. 'Bad Levi. No, no, no. Don't go there.' His poor heart could not take any more teasing, so the demon turned on his heels and hurried back to the family-friendly area. Unknown to him, a devilish grin tugged on your lips.

Trying to distance himself from the heart-failing events that transpired, Levi's eyes darted from one sweater to another, but his breath remained shallow. In his peripheral vision, he spotted a cat and instantly selected the apparel for Satan. The dark green sweater was decorated with white stripes and a mix of red and green snowflakes across the sleeves. In the center was an image of a perpetually grumpy cat sitting in front of a red ornament, wearing a Santa hat. The words "Jingle All The Way To Hell" were inscribed in white above and below the image.

You walked behind Levi and chuckled at the grumpy cat, recalling how Satan looked while fuming earlier in the day. Ignoring Leviathan's quizzical look, as you didn't want to upset Satan but telling Levi his issues, you searched for the perfect sweaters for Mammon and Solomon. Even though the two of you had been in the store for a while, the teen cashier had yet to notice your presence.

The black sweatshirt you selected for Mammon had a rectangle bordered by a frame of vibrant red presents and green snowflakes. Within the frame were three green checkboxes, each with a distinct white typography. The first checkbox read "Nice," the second "Naughty," and the third "Innocent until proven guilty." A red checkmark was placed neatly inside the third checkbox. Contrasting Mammon's sweatshirt was Solomon's bright red sweater that had the words "Permanently On The Naughty List And Loving Every Minute Of It" in bold white letters.

With a sigh of relief, you sat the last sweater on your selected pile and scanned the store to find Levi. Who knew finding the perfect Christmas sweater could be this exhausting? He stood in the game-related Christmas sweaters section in hopes of finding one for him and you. But you beat him to it and handed him a dark blue sweater with colorful crewmates chaotically standing in the center and "Christmas is Among Us" written below them. "How about this one?"

"Then, will you wear this one?" Levi shyly asked as he showed you a pine green sweater with Pikachu happily sitting in the center, a heart above its head, and the words "All I Want For Christmas Is...CHUUU!!!" below and above the adorable Pokemon.

Your face grew warm as a light, rosy flush graced your cheeks. Leaning close to his face, you playfully brought your lips to his ears and whispered, "Let me try this on to make sure it fits."

The moment your warm breath caressed his ear, the air charged with anticipation. Your breath caused goosebumps to erupt on his skin while his pulse quickened at the thought of something more. He could only nod slightly as his eyes followed you to the changing room. But why were you going to the changing room in the dizzying part of the store? Feeling an unexplainable tug, he slowly dragged his feet toward the adult-themed section but kept his eyes on the walls, away from the explicit sweaters. His pants were still slightly tight from your teasing, and he didn't need them to get any tighter.

Every minute he waited for you felt like an eternity and only increased his temptation to peer at the sweaters to his left. Images of you caressing the plastic boob and kneeling in front of him to kiss under the mistletoe flashed before his eyes, but the demon forced himself to keep his thoughts clear. If his mind had an undo or erase button, Levi would have repeatedly slammed it.

"(Y/n), are you done yet?" He quietly asked and knocked on the changing room's door. No response. "(Y/n)? Are you okay?" His nervousness grew as he knocked louder a few more times.

In a panic, the Avatar of Envy flung the door open but froze when he saw you in front of the mirror with a mischievous smile. Though your back was turned to him, Levi saw the words on your sweater in the mirror's reflection: "Joy to the Touch." White gloves were painted over the dark blue fabric over your breasts as if fondling them. Heat surged through his body at the unwanted thoughts snuck into his mind once more.

"What are you waiting for, Levi?" You deliberately spoke in a slow and sultry voice, knowing you had successfully hit the hammer on the nail.

The demon closed the door and wrapped his arms around you from behind, yet he gave no kiss, nor did he whisper sweet nothings; instead, he buried his face in the curve of your neck with a frustrated groan. You suppressed your urge to laugh and took the lead, guiding his hands to your chest over the white gloves on the sweaters.

As he felt the softness of your mounds through the fabric, Levi pressed his heated face deeper into your skin, the feeling enough to send a jolt of passion through your body. His hands slowly released your mounds and slid down inch by inch to sneak beneath your sweater and bra, prompting a soft sigh to escape your parted lips.

"Hmm, Levi. I have waited for this for a long time," you purred.

Though he didn't reply, his trembling hands gently kneaded your supple curves and pinched your perked buds. You leaned back into him and closed your eyes, holding back the moans bubbling in your throat. Your mind was filled with thoughts of Levi hovering over you, his hips bucking against yours as you dug your nails into his flesh. You needed more. You needed him.

"Why don't we go somewhere more private and finish what we started?"

Levi was filled with desire as he saw the way your lips curved into a naughty grin. Your words sent a shiver up his spine, and he let out a lustful moan in response.

———————————————

➣  Please visit my website for the full masterlist!

[bonbonchocolates]

Tinder

Yandere Taehyung x Reader

Part 1 Part 2

Summary: When your best friend creates an account on Tinder account for you....

Warnings: yandere Taehyung, stalking, obsessive behaviour, horror themes, major character death, minor character death, tae is kinda creepy here

A/N: Again originally from my Wattpad account. I hope you like it and if you do please leave a like.

____________________________________________

You saw that man coming closer to you. You were terrified and started to move backwards. Now in the light of your apartment his face was clearly visible and it was Taehyung.

"T..tae-hyung"

You shuttered in fear. You have no idea what he is going to do to you. He kept coming closer and closer. You kept moving backwards but to your bad luck the back of your knee hit with the couch.

"Yes babe"

Now he was really close to you and you were trapped between the couch and him. You tried to run away but he was quick to grab hold of you. He pulled you closer and his breath hit your face.

"I love you so much babe"

"Tae-"

Suddenly you started to feel dizzy and then you lost your consciousness. Last thing you saw was Taehyung holding you and had a creepy smile on his face.

___________________________________________

You woke up at the sound of the alarm clock. You observed your surroundings and found that you were in your bedroom. You checked yourself and you were wearing your night dress.

Was it all a dream?

You got up from the bed and picked up the baseball bat kept in the corner of your bedroom. You slowly opened the door and went into your living room.

You carefully searched everywhere and you couldn't find anyone. You saw your balcony door was locked from inside and even your main door was locked from inside. Nothing was out of the place.

Then you remembered something and quickly started to search for your phone. It was the only option to confirm if all that happened yesterday was a dream or not. You couldn't find your phone anywhere in the living room so you went back to your bedroom and found it in the bedside table.

You opened it and saw the notification. You received a message from Taehyung. You quickly opened it.

_________________________________________

VANTAE: Good Morning.

____________________________________________

You checked the previous messages. The last message was when you said him about the outing with your friend and there was no conversation between you both after that. The next message he sent was the 'good morning' message today.

That means it was all a dream.

You were so happy to know that. You sighed in relief. You thanked God that was a dream but it felt so real. Just then your date with Namjoon came to your mind. You found you received a message from Namjoon during midnight, probably when you were sleeping.

____________________________________________

NAMJOON: Sorry bae, I could not pick you up for the date that I promised. Actually the boss held me late. Hope you don't mind.

____________________________________________

You didn't reply him and thought of talking to him in person at your office. You realised that you were getting late for your work.

____________________________________________

Time Skip:

Office hours were boring for you today as Namjoon was not there. You received a lot of messages from Taehyung but you ignored him. After that dream you don't feel comfortable with him.

Later that evening you invited Rose to watch Netflix with you. You told her everything even about the dream. She scolded you for ignoring Taehyung. You realised that it was just a dream and not his fault. She told you you couldn't lose a potential friend just because of a bad dream.

About Namjoon not coming to work today she suggested that maybe he was tired as he had to work late night yesterday. You hoped it was true. Truth to be said she is an amazing friend. She always with you since childhood. You are happy to have her.

___________________________________________

A few months pass and no clue of Namjoon. He didn't come to work for almost a week and then you come to know from your boss that he resigned. His sudden resignation seemed suspicious to you so you text him but he didn't reply. You tried calling him but it was of no use.

You even visited his apartment where he used to live. There you got to know that he emptied his apartment a week ago. You asked his neighbour and a good friend of his that he once introduced to you, where he could go? His friend was clueless and told that Namjoon left without saying anything. You were now worried about him.

Today you decided to visit his brother, Seokjin's restaurant. You are sure that he may know where is Namjoon as he is his brother. You saw the signboard reading 'Eatjin' you entered and asked the counter lady about Seokjin. Just then you heard the beaming voice of a man.

"You are Y/N right?"

He seemed a few years older than you. You don't know how he knows you and were about to question him.

"I'm Seokjin, Namjoon's brother."

He introduced and let his hand for a handshake. You gladly accepted it.

"So how's Namjoon?"

Why is he asking to you? How are you supposed to know about him?

"What do you mean?"

"Stop joking Y/N. A few months ago I got a text from Namjoon in that he told me that he is moving out with you as you are pregnant and asked me not to search for him. I was angry at him first but then I understood him, he did it for the best. So how's my little nephew or niece?"

"What are you talking about? I don't know where Namjoon is? That is the reason why I came here to ask you."

"If you don't know where he is and I don't know where he is, where is Namjoon? Come let's sit and talk."

He took you to a corner table and asked you about everything and you explained it to him. He suggested that you should report it to the police. The police assured you that they will start searching for him and let you know if they find any clue about him. Seokjin told you to inform him if Namjoon contacts you.

____________________________________________

A week pass with no sign of Namjoon. The police were still not able to find him. You were so worried for him but Rose helped you calm down saying everything will be alright.

You even told everything to Taehyung, he assured you that you will soon find your friend. That was indeed true the police finally found him. The police discovered his death body from the warehouse in the middle of the jungle.

You were broken after hearing the news. Rose tried her best to calm you down. Namjoon's funeral was delayed as his body was sent to posterm.

Almost after a week you attended his funeral with Rose. You couldn't help but cry. After the funeral Seokjin took you to his house. He tried to comfort you.

"Y/Naah don't cry, everything will be fine. Think about me I lost two of my brothers. I hope whoever killed Namjoon gets caught soon."

You quickly wiped your tears and checked your watch and you realised were getting late for work. You needed to go to your work or your boss might fire you. You didn't went work for almost two weeks. You took leave from Seokjin and he told you to take care of yourself and promised to remain in contact.

You were about to leave when a picture of someone unexpected caught your eyes. It was Taehyung's picture but what is it doing in Seokjin's house?

"Oppa who is this?"

His gaze followed to where you pointed.

"This is Taehyung my youngest brother. He passed away from a road accident almost three years ago."

You were shocked after getting the information. You hurriedly left from there.

____________________________________________

It was already evening time and now you are at the terrace of your office building. You could see the whole city from there. You could not even focus on your work today and got scolding from your boss. You didn't mind it as you were already not okay.

You were so confused and couldn't figure two things out. Firstly, what happened to Namjoon? Who killed him and why? Secondly, who is Taehyung? If he is dead who is the one texting you? These questions were eating your head and you had no answer to it.

You were so busy in your thoughts that you didn't notice that you are at the edge of the terrace currently. Just then you heard the sound of footsteps coming from behind you. Before you could turn back and take a look at the person, someone pushed you. You slipped from the terrace and fell. Last thing you saw was people surrounding you before you closed your eyes forever.

___________________________________________

Unknown POV:

I sneakily came from behind and pushed Y/N from the edge of the terrace. I watched her falling down slowly. I felt a pang in my heart. I didn't wanted to do this but I had to. I can't let anyone else have my love.

If I do let her live, I would have to kill another brother of mine and I didn't want to risk it.

"Now you are mine forever babe."

____________________________________________

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for killing the guy my daughter was having an affair with/handling this situation poorly?

Okay, sorry in advance because this is going to be LONG:

I (50M) am a widowed retired army officer of some wealth and nobility living at home with my daughter (24F) and her husband (28M), as well as basically the entire village. (Don’t ask; I’m not going to explain the dynamics because that’s not really important.)

My son-in-law recently went away on a work-related trip for several months. Before he left, one of his friends (27M) came to stay as an extended houseguest, which I was perfectly fine with even though I thought he seemed a bit mysterious and suspicious.

However, said friend quickly became obsessed with my daughter and my daughter got bored without her husband around and long story short, one thing led to another and a little over a week ago I could’ve sworn I heard him escaping her bedroom early in the morning. But yeah, they had an affair. (No, I do not have all the details. This may be important.)

So my son-in-law/her husband got back yesterday (note: also their wedding anniversary) and my daughter felt really bad about it and wanted to write a letter confessing everything to him. However, I walked in in the middle of her writing it and I tore it up and told her that she couldn’t confess what happened because if she did then our family would be disgraced and her husband would be driven to suicide. (Honestly, probably not true especially in light of what’s happened since, but I had to get her to stop somehow. Our reputation is on the line!)

Anyway, more unimportant stuff happened but long story short her husband almost found out about the affair in the middle of the village’s/his coworkers’ homecoming party for him because the other guy was a dumbass, but I challenged him to a duel in the cemetery that night (so: last night). (Oh, also I should mention that I was totally right about him being shady because he’s been claiming to be a count but I did some Investigative Detectiveing TM and it turns out he’s actually a count’s bastard child so he’s a lying liar on top of everything else.)

So we were going to have our duel and I was going to kill him but SIL (that’s son-in-law, right? I’m old and bad at technology) interrupted us and told us we couldn’t duel in the cemetery or at all because that’s a) not very respectful of the dead and b) not very Christian and we have to forgive each other or something. (Important info I forgot earlier: SIL is a Protestant minister.)

So SIL wanted us to shake hands as an act of reconciliation or some shit and I got so mad I blurted out the truth that his wife/my daughter had an affair with this guy. Daughter also showed up and confessed everything and SIL basically lost his mind and tried to kill him but didn’t because one of his clergy coworkers (55M) showed up and talked him out of it.

So more stuff happened and the whole village found out and I briefly contemplated suicide but decided that my original plan of killing this SOB was a better idea and went off to find him.

However, I overheard my SIL talking to my daughter and telling her he wanted a divorce and he wanted her to marry the other guy. Daughter said no because apparently she still loves SIL??? I don’t know, man. But either way, no way in hell I was letting my daughter marry him because he was a horrible person and I hated him, so that doubly motivated me to track him down and kill him.

So I did. And he’s dead now I guess. But…I don’t know. I don’t feel any better. I just feel terrible. I feel like I fucked up immensely. Even though I avenged my honor and rid the world of one more SOB. But I don’t think it really solved anything else. My daughter and SIL are horrified, and honestly, so am I. My only hope of dealing is that the whole church congregation is having a special service to deal with all of this and to decide what to do about my daughter, and I guess me too, but I think she’s the main focus. Maybe that’ll help?

But no matter what happens in that church service, I feel like I have to ask: AITA?

[spookyserenades]

OH DANA, you never fail to feed us so well ive gobbled everything up!!!! Namjoon moments, new domestic Jimin activities, OUR HOBI TRYING TO TALK US DOWN FROM THE LEDGE. like nice try babes but I wouldn't want to just take what that ghost said to me either, boutta throw hands with the entities. Sure they can call me a wh*re but mama didn't raise a COWARD. I'd also want to exorsice them out of pure spite (and for the safety of the family I guess) 😤 (also another hobi scenting scene? Yeah. Hot)

The second investigation was so cool and terrifying to read as well. My jaw dropped when I read the line saying we didn't notice our incense stick running out and the shadows around our ghost buster team. I was thoroughly spooked. However that got us JUNGKOOK TAT & PIERCING REVEAL! JUNGKOOK TAT & PIERCING REVEAL! I love bonding with our boys and looking respectfully.

HYBRID RIGHTS! HYBRID RIGHTS!!! WOOOOOO 🎉🎉🎉 loved the return of y/n's parents im forever in awe of the way you write the supporting characters as well. I really care for everyone in the trouville verse immensely. I like the intro of more opportunities for our boys as well with advancing hybrid rights! Really interested to see where this will go. (Considering our growing codependency to our hybrids im looking forward to different yearning opportunities lol)

Regarding the ending...

WE FUMBLED THE BAG SO HARD 😫 WHY AM I ACTUALLY UPSET ABOUT THIS WEEKS ENDING? I'm y/n fr fr my heart took a deep plunge into icy cold waters of REJECTION. Bestie really said you snooze you lose and WE LOST SO BAD. HOW WILL WE RECOVER???? 😫😭

( also I went back to read some asks on the blog and turns out there has been a new 🍒anon while I was gone, so I will now be signing off as 🧡anon! To avoid confusion for me lol)

-🧡

EEEE STOPPP THANK YOU 🥺🥺🥺 Honestly you guys feed me just as well when we chat about the story together, too 💕💕

You're so so soooo right about wanting to throw hands with the ghosts. Like first you corner me in a bedroom, call me a whore, then you have the balls to hurt one of the hybrids I love??? BYE! I'd be up in that house with holy oil, spell candles, and a goddamn sword on fire if I were Y/N!!!

Defff was time for another scenting, especially one from a hybrid she's not already romantically involved with! I like that it was a more tender, romantic moment between her and Hoseok, which things between the two of them have been pretty bestie/platonic aside from a few instances here and there. V HOT!

OOO I know like that was the first UH OH moment, when she forgot to light another stick of incense! She must have been so distracted by trying to protect Jeongguk and Namjoon from the shadows that she didn't notice it went out. But YEEEEEEEE GOTH JEONGGUK TATS! AND PIERCINGS!!! MY OBSESSION!!!! She also was NAWT looking respectfully 💀

WOOOOOOO HYBRID RIGHTS FUCKING FINALLY!!!!!!! AND stop 😭😭😭😭 I'm so happy you like the supporting characters, and not just the mains, it's important for Y/N to have others to lean on, not just her hybrids. I also love her mother's Jamie Lee Curtis vibes 🥰 I def think that a handful of the hybrids will either seek some kind of employment or maybe check out a uni class, Jimin and Hoseok in particular. I mean seriously, Jimin can't hang out with horses FOREVER 💀

fjkdaslfhasf IM KNOWN FOR THE MADDENING ENDINGS IM SORRYYY 💀 No seriously though that betrayal is gonna be brutal for her. I imagine Taehyung still feels a little betrayed that she hid her relationship with Yoongi from her, but like what was she supposed to do--- sit him down and go heyyyy I love Yoongi is that alright with you? Like imagine that conversation 💀 We WILL recover though I swear!!! Need some angst and obstacles to make everything more satisfying in the end 😉

OOP I'm sorry about the anon mixup lovebug!!! I love the orange heart too, though, so welcome back to our corner of Tumblr and sending you love 💜

[bodynblood666]

Bonded Together. Ch 2: The First Practice

parring: Phantom and Aurora (platonic)

Content: Swiss being Swiss, slight panic attack, angry Dew but Copia and Aeth scold him.

word count: 2,076

summary: the first practice didn't go quite as Phantom had hoped. Sunshine reveals she is looking for someone to replace her but the search isn't going well. But she believe Aurora will be able to take over for her. Is Aurora up for it?

Chapter 2: The First Practice 

The early morning sun shone through the flimsy curtains of the room. Casting precious light onto the ghouls still lying in bed, and onto the plain boring walls. Phantom starts to stir awake when a particular ray of sunlight hits him right in the eye. The tear marks from last night still sit on his cheeks, like an old uncomfortable sticker. Phantom full opens his eyes and blinks at the sleepiness from them. He moves to get up and out of bed, but a body behind him prevents him from moving. Aurora. How could he forget she was still in bed. He honestly thought that sometime in the middle of the night she would leave and gone back to her room. Phantom rolls over to cast his gaze upon Aurora’s sleeping face. The only emotion it carried was that of contentment. Maybe staying in bed for a little bit longer wouldn’t be so bad. Just as Phantom was starting to lay down and get comfortable again, heavy footsteps can be heard almost sprinting to his door. Then suddenly, his bedroom door flew open, almost breaking the wall when it slammed against it. In the doorway stood a small, structured figure. Smoke slowly started to fill the room and the figure standing in the doorway kept smoking a cigarette. 

“Hurry up you two! I’m not letting the reason be that breakfast is late be because of you two!” the voice yelled at the two, now frightened, ghouls in bed. As quickly as the figure came, it disappeared.  

“Dew! Don’t yell at them. They had a big day yesterday; they can sleep in if they want to.” Rain’s calm, monotone voice echoed in the near distance.  

“But you know Mountain’s rule! ‘No one is allowed to eat unless everyone is present at the table.’ He follows it to a T Rain, and I want my bacon.” Dew barks back to his pack mate, clearly distressed over his bacon. 

Phantom and Aurora scramble out of bed, with Aurora bringing Phantom’s comfort along with her to protect her delicate skin from the icy cold morning air. They race down to the main dining hall, almost getting lost in the almost endless corridor of the Ministry. But soon enough, they make it to the dining room, although slightly out of breath. There, at the same table from dinner last night, the rest of their new pack mates sat chatting amongst themselves. Someone of them looked like they had been up for hours, and someone these looked like they had just woken up.  

“Aurora, there you are!” Cumulus exclaims as she walks over to them. “We were looking for you this morning. Thought you had ran away for a second.” 

Aurora gives Cumulus a warm smiles and replies, “Sorry, I probably should have told you where I went.” 

“Ah no that’s ok. You don’t have to tell us where you went. It was just strange you disappeared.” Cumulus says before taking Aurora’s hand and leading her to the table. Aurora in turn, grabbing Phantom’s hand. “Now let's eat before Dew gets even more pissy.” 

As Aurora was sitting down, she felt warm strong hands start caressing her shoulders, and a head lower down to one of her ears. A hot breathy voice whispers in her ear. “This isn’t allowed at the table, little miss princess.” 

And in a quick movement the comforter that was protecting her from the cold, was ripped away from her body in one quick motion. Heat rises to her face and an almost cartoony blush fills her cheeks. When she turned to see who ripped away her comforter from around her, she saw a tall ghoul with a curly mop of a head of hair smiling down at her.  

“Swiss, leave her alone.” Cirrus says from the other side of the table, crossing her arms. “She as just summoned, give it a bit before you try seducing her, ok.” 

“Sorry, Rus but whenever I see a pretty new ghoul, I got to get really close to them.” Swiss says crouching down to Aurora’s height, looking her dead in the eye. Aurora stares back at the fellow multi ghoul, with big doe eyes. The bright pink blush spreading across her whole face and neck now.  

Before Aurora can say anything to the multi ghoul, Mountain finally brings in breakfast, to Dew’s delight. Swiss stands from his crouching position and wonders over to his seat across the table and next to Sunshine. Aurora watches Swiss closely as he walks away. A million thoughts ran through her head in an instance. Two of them being, ‘what was that all about’, and ‘is it bad I want him to do it again.’ 

Aurora quickly tries to compose herself before anyone notices her flustered appearance. Unfortunately for her, someone did notice. When she lifts her head up from looking over herself, she is met with hungry golden eyes staring into her own mixed matched eyes. She couldn’t believe Swiss was sitting directly in front of her. She could have sworn he was sitting at the other end of the table yesterday at dinner. Aurora felt her face starting to flush yet again. She tried looking anywhere else in the room besides Swiss’ hungry gaze. 

“S-So uh,” Aurora says, trying to strike up conversation. “The first practice is today, right? What am I supposed to be doing while you guys are all at practice?” 

“I guess you can sit in on practices. At least until we find you something to do around the Ministry,” Aether replies, downing his morning coffee as Dew steals a few slices of his bacon.  

Dread sets in on Phantom as he realizes that soon enough, he will be on tour with the band and Aurora will stay here in the Ministry. His hands start to shake as he dives deeper into his thoughts. What if during their tour she forgets about him? What if he forgets about her?  

Breakfast wizzes by in a haze. It is only when Dew starts the first guitar riff of Kaisarion, Phantom snaps back into reality. When did he get in the practice room? Better yet, when did practice start? Standing in front of the ghouls on stage is Coipa, Aether and Aurora. Phantom guesses this isn’t a full practice since Copia isn’t off stage awaiting his queue. Phantom follows as many queues as he can remember, but he does forget many and plays many wrong notes. He looks over to the other side of the stage and sees Dew glaring at him as Rain plays his bass line at the start of Con Clavi Con Dio. Phantom whips his head to face the front of the stage as quickly as he could. He tries to remember all his guitar riffs for the rest of the songs, hoping not to meet Dew's wrath. But when it comes to his turn to play, he blanks.  

“I can’t take this anymore!” Dew shouts, throwing one of his picks on the ground. In that moment, everybody stops playing and turns to start at him. “He keeps messing up Copia. He’s not working out!” 

“It’s his first real practice Dew!” Aether yells back at him from his spot in the audience.  

“Aether is right Dewdrop. Don’t be mad at him, he only had a 30-minute practice session yesterday. He's learning. I’m not expecting him to be perfect after 30 minutes of practice. In fact, he’s doing a good job so far,” Copia says sternly, crossing his arms over his chest. At that, Dew shags his shoulders a little bit as an embarrassed looks appears on his face. Copia pinches the skin between his eyebrows and sighs. “That’s enough for right now. We will continue later.” 

Phantom was the first one to leave the practice room. Speedwalking out of the practice room after placing his guitar on its stand. Aurora is next to follow out of the practice room, following after Phantom. Soon enough, the practice room is cleared out, except for two ghouls, Aether and Sunshine. Sunshine finally steps off her platform and walks to the center of the stage and stands next to Aether. 

“I take it you haven’t talked to Copia yet?” Aether asks.  

Sunshine shakes her head with a no. “No not yet. I was hoping I could find somebody to replace me before I told him. But the search hasn’t been great. The other multi ghouls don’t have what I’m looking for.” 

“We need a lot of help here Sunny. Ifrit and Omega are struggling as it is. Mist is doing everything she can as well. We really need your help.” Aether begs. Sunshine smiles up at him and places her hand on his cheek and caresses it.  

“I know Aeth. I’m trying to find someone, it’s just hard,” Sunshine slowing removes her hand from his cheek as she gets an idea. “I could see if Rora is able to replace me! It would be good for not only the band but for Phantom too. They have a special relationship, and they probably don’t want to be separated! Thanks for the idea Aeth!” Sunshine exclaiming jumping off the stage and running out of the room in search of Aurora. 

Aether is left behind in the practice room, standing there completely clueless. “But... I didn’t say anything...”  

After running through the endless corridors, Sunshine finally reaches the ghoul den. She bursts through the big iron door and roams her eyes upon the ghouls on the sagging couch. No Aurora. She progresses further into the ghoul den and opens every door she can. Still no Aurora. Sunshine searches the ghoul den for close to 10 minutes and she can’t seem to find Aurora. She walks about to the living room, trying to think of where Aurora could be. 

“Whatcha looking for, baby?” Cirrus asks wrapping her hands around Sunshine’s neck from behind. Sunshine turns her head to look at Cirrus. 

“I’m looking for Rora, Rus,” Sunshine replies. “You know where she is?” 

“Yeah, she’s in the garden with Phantom and Mount. Phantom was having a hard time with what Dew said and Rora was trying to console him. Mountain saw and took both outside, hoping to help them in any way,” Cirrus tightens her hold on Sunshine. “Why?” 

“I gotta ask her something,” Sunshine taps Cirrus’ arm, signaling for her to let go, which she does. “Thanks honey.” Cirrus smiles and watches Sunshine disappear behind the iron door, but not before telling her to visit later with a flirtatious tone to her voice. 

It doesn’t take long for Sunshine to reach the garden as the den is close to the exit of the Ministry. She wanders around the grounds of the Ministry for a bit. She starts to wonder if Cirrus lied to her about the three of them being out here. But soon enough, she sees the large antlers, she’s grown to love, peaking over some flower bushes in the near distance. She smiles and slowly starts making her way over to Mountain, getting a little insight into the conversation he was having with Phantom and Aurora. 

“And these are Ghost Orchids also known as Dendrophylax Lindenii,” Sunshine hears Mountain say. “They are native to Florida, the Bahamas and Cuba. Now we’re not really supposed to have them, but the Ministry was able to pull some string, when Primo was papa, to be able to get these. Primo was very into plants when he was here.” 

The joyful sounds of Phantom and Aurora’s oohs and awes ring through Sunshine’s ears as she approaches. Then she hears Phantom innocently asks, “What happened to Primo?” 

Mountain sighs, then replies, “Unfortunately, Primo is no longer with us. He has passed on to his next life,” As Sunshine rounds the corner of bushes of the garden, she hears sorrowful ohs from the two newer ghouls. Mountain turns his head when he notices another presence in his garden. “Hi Sunny, whatcha doing here?” 

“I was looking Aurora. Rus said she was out here with you.” Sunshine replies smiling at them. 

“Oh uh, ok,” Aurora says standing up following Sunshine to the gazebo in the middle of the garden. “What is it, Sunshine?” 

“How would you like to replace me and be a part of the band alongside Phantom?” Sunshine asks with a smile on her face.  

“Huh? Are you serious, Sunshine?” Aurora asks in awe.  

[thin-line-between-us]

Morals

Alexis Drazen x Reader

Word count: 3151

Pt. 3

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The light was blinding and it was one of those mornings where I despised the east facing window in my bedroom. The blinds were closed yet it still felt like the sun had stuck a needle in my brain, or it was simply the fact I drank way too much to keep myself from walking out on the world's most self centered man mid dinner. Almost everything from the moment I stepped in through the front door was fuzzy and racking through my brain for the rest of those memories only intensified the throbbing sensation in my head. I finally managed to roll over after what seemed like forever, my muscles ached but the glass of water and aspirin on my nightstand brought a smile to my face as that would be the only thing to give me some relief. 

30 minutes had passed of just mindless turning and tossing before I could actually stand without wanting to collapse right back into bed. As I strolled into the living room I was greeted with a huge smile from Alexis still under the covers but already sitting up, sipping on a cup of coffee. This time there wasn’t one ready for me so as I walked past him I took his and plopped myself down into the armchair. “Good morning, I wasn’t expecting you to be up so soon after last night” he was now looking at me over his shoulder, smile still plastered on his face as his gaze went over me once before refocusing on my face. He was anything but subtle, yet the pounding in my head stopped me from caring too much. “Light sleeper, the sun was assaulting me so I didn’t have much choice. You seem happier than usual” I sipped on his coffee, quickly scrunching my face at the lack of sugar but didn’t make a move to give him the cup back. “Well I get the best view first thing in the morning” he threw back the covers and strode over to the pot of coffee, pulling out another mug and sugar from the cabinet above. 

Now it was my turn to ogle, albeit I was much more subtle about it, as he stood in nothing but his boxers, the bandage still wrapped tightly around his torso to protect his healing wound “You should really start getting used to wearing pants” I told him as I placed his bitter cup of coffee on the table to my left. “Why? You’re not wearing any, besides you weren’t complaining about that last night” he turned to walk back, now handing me my own cup of caffeine. “Did I…” I frantically point to my night clothes hoping he’ll understand my question to which I only get a shake of the head indicating a no “Did we-” this time I was cut off “Oh no, trust me you wouldn’t forget it if we did” I wrap my arms around myself hoping to somehow feel less exposed in the oversized shirt and just my underwear. I guess he wasn’t talking about the views outside earlier. “Alexis…” another question had popped into my head as I sat stiffly slowly sipping on the hot liquid “where is my bra?” that seemed to throw him off, as if I had asked something I should know. “Laundry, just like the rest of your clothes” I just nodded, internally screaming at the fact that he had seen me virtually naked because of my own stupidity. Outwardly I had put on a small smile, not letting on the embarrassment I was feeling. 

It was quiet the rest of the time we finished off our drinks, with an empty cup in hand I stood up to at least take it to the sink. Unoccupied hand still clinging to the hem of my shirt to not expose myself shouldn’t have been my main concern as I tried to step over Alexis’ legs. While not exactly a clutz, I wasn’t very graceful either as I fell right into his lap after tripping on my own foot rather than his and I could have sworn that time froze. Alexi did catch, seating me more comfortably instantly, but the impact did cause him to let out a groan and clutch his stomach with the hand that wasn’t holding me upright. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Are you okay? How bad is the pain?” I had already forgotten about the cup that dropped on the carpet or the somewhat explicit position we were in at that moment. “It’s not that bad, and it was worth it” he finally lifted his eyes from the spot that was radiating pain to meet mine full of concern. “Worth it? What are you- oh!” reality hit me like a truck the moment I felt a slight twitch under me. My brain was telling me to move right now but my body didn’t move an inch, partially because I didn’t want to make the current situation worse somehow. He was still looking at me, trying to read my facial expressions the same way I was trying to read his, yet all I could focus on were his hands. One was on my lower back since the fall, but the other had now moved to one of my legs straddling him and his thumb was gently rubbing circles into it.

As if acting on its own my body slightly leaned into him and Alexis didn’t seem to mind that one bit as the hand that was on my thigh started creeping up towards my very exposed rear. I never looked at his eyes for as long as I did now and suddenly lost myself in his soft gaze. Our lips were inches apart and as a shiver ran down my spine I let myself submit to my own urges. The kiss had turned heated and rough in seconds, my hands had found their way into his hair tugging at the roots harder as a borderline pornographic moan left his mouth, allowing me to catch a breath before returning to his lips again. Every touch felt white hot and my mind was completely blank as his hands continued roaming freely under my shirt, the need for more felt almost primal the second his focus shifted to my neck, nipping at the sensitive skin and finding every spot that made me tick. And then the phone rang, snapping me out of my daze and back to reality so fast I almost fell again scrambling to get to my feet and out of his grasp.

“Hello?” I answered, trying to keep my breathing steady to not alarm the person on the other end of the phone. “Hey… you okay? You sound a little off. Don’t tell me you caught something last shift, you know I can’t work nights without you so I better see you there tonight” said Jodie, my best friend and coworker, causing me to rack my brain for a reasonable explanation “I was… working out, yeah remember those workout videos I rented last time we went out? Really got my blood pumping” I shot a glare at Alexis as he chuckled quietly trying to run a hand through what was now a tangled mess on his head thanks to my wandering hands, all attempts to smooth it down were futile. ���Okay… how was last night?” She didn’t seem at all convinced by my answer but swiftly changed the subject. “I can tell you all about it later, I’m a little preoccupied but I’ll see you at 9” I hung up the phone before she could protest or I would spill any details of the last two days. “Don’t” I pointed a finger at Alexis as his mouth was already half open and left the room quickly. 

Once in the safety of my own bedroom I could really think about what had just gone down, it didn’t feel wrong but the reasonable voice in my head reprimanded me for letting get as far as it did. It’s been a long time since I had let anyone get close so why was this one different? Before I could get too into my head I slipped into my sheets and tried to get at least a few more hours of sleep, knowing well the hangover won’t go away before it was time for work. The images of those moments were continuously invading my mind and no tossing or turning was going to make them go away so sleep was out of the question. I figured another approach was necessary and hopped out of bed, discreetly opening my door, looking around to make sure the reason for my restlessness wasn’t in sight and slipped into the bathroom. My skin was still on fire so a cold shower felt like the right move. Ripping my clothes off and turning for a moment to the mirror revealed a trail of strategically placed bruises from my jaw to my collarbone, I couldn’t resist running a finger down the line which only brought back the feeling of his lips on mine. Refocusing on my own goal of forgetting the encounter I step into the shower, allowing the painfully cold water to wash off any remnant of the dirty thoughts plaguing my mind and clouding my judgment. 

After the unpleasant shower I had to deal with the evidence. Concealer did nothing to help hide the purple marks so I settled on a turtleneck instead hoping my somewhat weather inappropriate choice of clothing won’t draw attention, a pair of slacks to go with it. Stepping back into the living room area I found Alexis by the stove, now in a tank top and a pair of black pants that looked like they were made for him. Those did not come from my closet and that’s when I finally noticed the leather duffel bag sitting on the couch. “I hope you like pancakes” he placed two full plates on the table “There wasn’t much I could do with the lack of food in your fridge” he had sat down at that point gesturing to the chair across from him. My eyes were focused on the bag in front of me, questions popping into my head at a rapid speed and the curiosity to open it overwhelming. Against my better judgment I turned around and accepted his invitation to eat. “I could go to the store if you want” all I could muster up was a soft hum as I picked at the food on my plate “Would you like a ride to work?” I finally looked at him after those words. “I would like that” I eventually placed a bite of food in my mouth, this time less surprised at how good it was but still audibly enjoying it. That put a smug smile on Alexis’ face, the tension in the room almost disappearing. 

The rest of the time eating was spent in a comfortable silence. Once done I moved to the armchair once again and turned on the TV, mindlessly flicking through the channels for something to have playing in the background. Alexis pulled out a button up from his bag “I have to ask” I walked over to him, doing up the buttons for him “Where did you get those from?” Once all buttoned up he zipped the bag and started rolling his sleeves up. “In my line of work you learn to keep one in a safe place” he said so casually that I was once again left with so many questions and didn’t know where to start.

“I could leave, if you want me to,” Alexis said.

“What? Why?” my head snapped in his direction, almost giving myself whiplash, a nauseous feeling in my stomach.

“I have options now that I have my belongings, I simply enjoy your company too much to walk away” there was that subtle smile again as he tucked his shirt in.

“Would you stay?” the last thing I wanted was for him to go, but I was not about to beg. 

“If you want me” was his simple answer but it told me all I needed to know for now. “I do have some business to take care of today, I will be back in time to drive you to work. You need to be there at 9 right?” he said as he opened his bag again, pulling a gun from it before placing it in his waistband.

“Mmhm” was all that came out as my eyes widened at the deadly weapon in his possession. With his jacket and shoes on he walked over and placed a chaste kiss on my forehead before disappearing through the front door, leaving me to ponder over what I have gotten myself into.

Hours felt like minutes with all that was going through my mind and before I knew it Alexis walked into the apartment with a few bags of groceries and what looked like the beginning of a nasty black eye. Worry scattered my thoughts again and I jumped from my seat.

“What happened?” I ran my fingers under the bruise before moving to retrieve an ice pack.

“My friend wasn’t exactly happy to see me,” he said before flinching at the cold feeling on his face.

“Your friend did this to you?” I couldn’t believe someone would treat their closest people like that.

“Get ready. We’re leaving in 5 minutes” he just gently shoved me away as he continued packing away the groceries with his one free hand. I listened and went to pack up my scrubs as the rest of my stuff was still in my car where I had left it. Soon enough we were driving to my work, an uncomfortable silence filling the air once again. The drive wasn’t long thankfully and I rushed to get out but a hand on my shoulder stopped me.

“One minute, I got you something” he reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small jewelry box.

“You really didn’t have to, my fridge is full because of you” I tried to joke but he seemed a little serious as he handed me the item. Inside was a gorgeous silver necklace with my initials and what looked like real diamonds.

“I owe you my life, this is nothing in comparison. Turn around for me” I shifted in my seat as he placed the chain around my neck.

“It’s beautiful” I turned back to him, gently running my fingers over the charm on my chest. He took my hand and placed a gentle kiss on it before telling me to get inside so I’m not late as it was already 8:55.

As soon as I stepped foot into the nurses station Jodie drags me out and to the changing rooms.

“So… spill, I’ve been dying to know how your date with Mark went, he’s so dreamy” she sat on a bench as I went to get changed.

“Trust me when I say he is anything but dreamy, I don’t think I’ve ever met a more self absorbed man in my life” I slipped out of my clothes, “I spent 2 hours listening to him talk about himself and when he wasn’t talking he was feeling me up in the middle of dinner” I now had my scrubs on and stepped out, trying to tie my hair up in a bun so it wouldn’t get in my way.

“And you still brought him home?” she quirked an eyebrow at me.

“No, gross. Why would you say that?” I scrunch my face up at the mere thought of it. I see her stand up and walk over to me still confused about her question. She lightly pushes my shoulder to turn to the mirror and that’s when I see it, the hickies plastered on my now exposed neck.

“You’re either lying or not telling me something” her eyes drop to my neck once more before she reaches out her hand touching the recently acquired accessory, “This looks expensive” she gives me an impressed look and sits down, still perked up, waiting to hear my explanation.

“I met someone” I start but take a moment to think of how to explain it all without sounding like an idiot for helping a stranger trying to steal my car in the first place, “He’s sweet and hot, I can’t even deny that and I don’t know where it’s going but I think I want to find out. And no we didn’t get down and dirty, I can already tell you’re thinking it” I finally manage to get out.

“Well when do I get to meet ‘Mr. Perfect’?” she said with an emphasis on the new nickname she gave Alexis.

“I don’t know but I’m pretty sure we were supposed to be out there” I point to the door “Like 10 minutes ago, we’ll have plenty of time to discuss this in the next 12 hours” I push open the door and step into the bright hallway with Jodie not far behind me.

“Alright alright just don’t hide him from me on purpose, you did that with the last one and look how that turned out” she shook her head reminiscing about my ex-fiance.

“I’d rather not think about that” I hooked my arm on hers and we began our journey to our assigned patients.

A few hours into the shift Jodie had disappeared as we both tended to patients but soon her head popped into one of my assigned rooms and the look on her face told me she had been up to something so I stepped out hurriedly. 

“I think your mystery man left you this” she handed me a paper bag, “He’s not blind is he?” her questions were completely ridiculous sometimes.

“God no! Why are you asking me that?” We walked over to the break room, bag still in hand.

“The receptionist said that a tall, blonde man with sunglasses left this for you. I don’t like him, only blind people and douchebags wear sunglasses inside. Plus it’s nighttime!” she was talking with her hands more than her lips at that point which only caused me to giggle.

“Oh, there’s a reason for that I’d rather not get into it” I avoided the topic of Alexis’ black eye and instead shifted my focus to the bag in front of us. Inside was a note that read ‘To keep up your strength, I’m sure you’ll need it’ and behind it were two boxes filled with food that was still warm.

“See, not a douchebag” I pointed out to my friend as her eyes widened at the deliciousness in my lap.

“Can you find me one like that? I’m starving” I pass one of the boxes to her and we dig in. Tonight might not be as horrible as I initially thought.

A mandatory photo of pookie

[spookyboywhump]

More Eve!!!!! This is her coming home + her first major injury :3c From here it’ll probably stop being chronological whatever I post with her and instead spaced out whenever just for funsies

Word Count: 2,240

CW: pet whump, dehumanization, burning of the whumpee

***

The girl looked around her new home curiously, her hands clasped together behind her back. From the moment they walked through the doorway she was overwhelmed by how neat and pristine everything looked, like the modeled rooms of a furniture store. She didn’t want to risk touching anything, like she would somehow break or dirty something just by putting her hands on it.

The woman, who had explained her name was Natalia Fairfax, but she could only refer to her as Miss, or Miss Fairfax, led her from room to room, a living room with a large television mounted on the wall, a well stocked kitchen and adjoining dining room, an office with bookshelves full of more books than she’d ever seen outside a store or library. Upstairs was Natalia’s bedroom, the guest bedrooms, and the guest bathroom. They were about to walk back downstairs when she finally spoke up, her voice soft and timid.

“Uh- um, Miss Fairfax…?” She asked hesitantly.

“Yes, what is it?” She paused with her hand on the staircase railing.

“Which room will be mine? I-I just want to make sure I ask before it gets too late-“

“Room? You think that pets get rooms?” There was that hint of a smile again, she was amused by what she thought was a simple question. “No, I’m sorry to say that I don’t spoil my pets. Bedrooms are for people, come with me downstairs and I’ll show you where you will sleep.” She told her.

“Yes ma’am…” She followed her back downstairs, being mindful to hide her disappointment. She knew that not all owners were as kind of generous as others, but it still hurt a little, she’d been so hopeful about sleeping in a real bed after so long on a concrete floor or uncomfortable cot.

In the kitchen there was another door aside from the one that led to the pantry, she hadn’t questioned it the first time they went through there. Natalia opened it up and turned a light on, leading her down another flight of stairs into the basement. Each step down made her more and more nervous, she’d always hated going down into the basement as a child, there were always spiders in the house she grew up in, and before she’d been bought she’d heard so many horror stories about owners with whole torture rooms in their basements, not unlike the training rooms she hated so much.

As they actually entered the main part of the basement, she saw it wasn’t nearly as bad as she’d been expecting, nothing special but clean, no weapons of torture in sight, just a nice washer and dryer, some racks containing extra household items and cleaning supplies, what looked like a closet for extra space, and some storage containers stacked up against the wall. She let out a sigh of relief, she almost felt silly for being so afraid.

“I hope you know how to do laundry, you’ll be responsible for all of it now as part of your chores.” Natalia said, and she nodded quickly.

“Yes ma’am, I can do that.” She assured her.

“Good, and you’ll be sleeping in there.” She said, gesturing to the closet door. “I’ve already left some things you’ll need in there, but I’ll have to do something about getting you more clothes and properly fitting shoes.” She said, looking her over, it felt like she was scrutinizing every aspect of her appearance. “You can take a look and take some time to rest if you need to, come find me upstairs when you’re ready.” She told her, and she nodded again. She watched her go back upstairs, waiting until she heard the door at the top shut before she finally relaxed. Natalia put her on edge, she was very cold and her eyes were intense no matter how she looked at her, she felt like one wrong move would get her in big trouble.

Now that she was alone, she went to check out what was supposed to be where she slept. It looked like a closet that had been cleaned out just for her, it was big enough to walk into, probably big enough to comfortably lay down in, but rather narrow. The shelves were almost empty, aside from some folded up blankets, a pillow, and a digital alarm clock.

She looked around the basement a little bit longer, getting herself familiar with another part of the house she’d be working in. Finally, she went back upstairs where she found Natalia in her office. She looked up from her laptop when she entered the room, giving her a disapproving look.

“You’ll want to knock before entering a room unless I’ve called you inside from now on. Go ahead and come here though.” She said, pushing her chair back from her desk. Nervously, she walked over to her, and after Natalia gestured to the floor, she dropped to her knees. “I need to get you a new collar, which means you’ll get a name tag with it. I’ve been thinking about the name Eve for you.” She told her.

“Eve…?”

“Yes. It’s short, but I think it’ll fit you nicely. I expect you to respond immediately when I call your name, do you understand?” She’d been anxious about what Natalia may choose to name her, she’d heard of all kinds of demeaning and humiliating names pets had gotten stuck with, but Eve… she thought it was pretty, she felt lucky even.

“Yes ma’am.” Eve told her, accepting her new name without complaint. She wouldn’t say she had no attachment to her actual name, but she’d happily take this over anything insulting.

“Good girl.” Natalia smiled at her. “As long as you obey me and do your job here well, then you should be fine. I intend to keep you only as long as you’re useful, but you seem like you’ll last a while.” Eve chose to take that as a compliment, she wanted to last a while, forever even. After all, she didn’t want to find out what Natalia did with pets that were no longer useful.

***

Eve settled down n and tried to adapt to the rules here quickly. She learned the hard way the first morning he woke up in the house that Natalia would allow her to learn to cook, but that she should learn quickly as she wouldn’t be allowed to eat anything she hadn’t prepared. Natalia had put instructions for making breakfast on the counter and told her to start learning or go hungry, and sadly, she was not a natural in the kitchen. For the first few weeks her diet consisted primarily of burnt toast and overcooked eggs, most of the other food she messed up wasn’t even edible.

The rest of the chores were easy, but exhausting on a nearly empty stomach. She cleaned her mistakes in the kitchen multiple times a day and tended to the upkeep of every single other room in the house. She felt like she was cleaning before the mess could even be created, but she supposed this was just what was necessary to keep a home like this looking as picture perfect as it was.

She didn’t think it would be hard, only Natalia lived there after all, but with the amount of things that needed to be done every single day, she hardly had a moment to herself until she was allowed to go to bed. That alarm clock would go off at five thirty every morning, when she would have to get up and start everything over again.

After nearly two months there, her skills with breakfast had improved immensely, she could make a variety of things now and she felt more confident in her abilities there, but dinner was causing her to struggle. She was always overwhelmed, there were always so many things to do at once and it never came out right. She’d usually end up going to bed hungry after Natalia scolded her for messing up again.

She’d been punished for some of the most ruined meals, made to kneel on dry rice for two hours after she mistakenly burnt the rice for dinner, salt rubbed into preexisting cuts and scrapes when she seriously over salted one meal, she never resisted the punishments and as she cried, Natalia would tell her she would know better next time now, she wouldn’t have to repeat this, and she’d keep those punishments in the back of her mind whenever she went to start preparing another meal.

The worst of it came late one evening. She’d fallen behind on her chores so dinner was running late, and though Eve was doing her best, she was in a hurry and things were not going well. The chicken she’d been cooking in one pan had clearly burnt and there was no going back from that and the water she was trying to boil for pasta seemed like it would never reach a boiling point. She kept stirring the sauce in the pot on a back burner, anxiously biting her lip as she knew there was no way in which this could end well for her. She froze as she heard footsteps entering the room, Natalia approaching her.

“Again, Eve?” She asked, sounded exasperated.

“I-I’m sorry ma’am, I’m sorry, I was trying but there was just-“

“I don’t want to hear your excuses!” She snapped at her. She shoved her away from the stove, looking over the damage she’d done this time. “I feel I’ve been more than patient with you and yet you continue to fuck up completely simple tasks, I’m starting to wonder if you’re even worth keeping around!” The comment felt like a punch to the gut, Eve’s heart pounded in her chest, sweat pricked at the back of her neck and suddenly the spacious kitchen felt much smaller, much hotter, she thought she was going to be sick.

“N-no!” She blurted out. “No, please, I promise I’ll do better, please punish me, give- give me more time, I’ll do better!” She insisted, tears welling up in her eyes. She didn’t know what would happen to her if Natalia decided she wasn’t worth keeping around, she didn’t know if they’d take her back and let her work again or if they’d finally just put her down and get it over with. Natalia just looked even angrier with her, her hand wrapped around the handle of the pot of hot water.

“You do not tell me no.” She said through gritted teeth. Eve took a step back, she knew she was in danger, she hadn’t seen Natalia this angry before.

“I’m sorry…” She whimpered. Apologies meant nothing to Natalia though, and she knew that, it had never helped her before, but Natalia’s punishments were always strategic and thought out. She didn’t take even a second to think about this, she lifted the pot from the stove in one quick movement and splashed the hot water onto her, eliciting a shriek from Eve as she instinctively turned away to protect herself.

She didn’t throw the whole pot of near boiling water on her, but it was certainly enough, and she’d only managed to protect her chest and stomach from getting the worst of it. The right side of her body was still soaked, searing pain from her shoulder all the way down her leg, she could feel it in her ribs, her shorts wet and sticking to her thigh, she desperately shook water off her arm as she cried, stumbling towards the sink for cold water.

“H-hot, it’s really hot, please- please help me, I’m sorry ma’am, I’m sorry, please help!” She cried, trying to run cold water from the faucet over her arm but it just wasn’t enough, too much of her body felt like it was on fire for just the kitchen sink to help her, her legs were shaking and all she could think of was how badly she needed the pain to stop.

“Why should I? You brought this on yourself.” Natalia said, glaring at her.

“Please!” She sobbed, collapsing against the counter, barely managing to hold herself up by gripping onto the edge. After a moment Natalia sighed heavily, she stormed over and opened a drawer next to the sink to get a hand towel before shutting the water off. She used the towel to dry off the remaining water on her, she was so rough in doing so it caused Eve to start screaming again.

“Quiet! I’m trying to help you but I won’t if you’re going to keep shrieking in my ear!” She hissed, and Eve bit down on her lip, whimpering pitifully as she tried to keep quiet. Natalia took her arm in her hand, looking over the damage done with a scowl on her face. “I think you’re going to need to see someone for this.”

“Like… Like a doctor…?” She asked.

“Yes, a doctor.” She said it like Eve was stupid. “Not the kind you’re used to I’m sure.” Eve didn’t know what she meant by that, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to find out.

She assumed if she was going to see a doctor, she’d be given treatment, even time to recover. She was already praying that it wouldn’t take too long, Natalia was being gracious enough to get her seen at all, she just hoped she intended to keep her afterwards.

[bludmd23]

Waaaaaa okay guys different stuff today!!!! I laid my hands on writing a fanfic for the first time!!! I tried to write hess and dems first kiss, I’m not really a good writer tho this is just for fun!!! The paragraphing is a little weird idk how to do it actually 😭😭😭😭😭😭 sorry if there’s ooc or it’s cringe!! I’m probably gonna upload it to ao3 too once I get an account!!

The whole fic under the cut⬇️⬇️

"...So this is how humans express ‘love’...?" Demantoid snorted, glancing at the small electronic screen where a couple held their hands and gazed at each other passionately.

“It gets better, just you wait!”Hessonite claims, squeezing Demantoid’s shoulder gleefully. The latter hummed in response.

Just like any other Gem who felt excited about the new era, Hessonite had recently become obsessed with exploring Earth's culture and had gotten an outdated projection device out of nowhere, jabbering on about watching it with her companion. Demantoid was different, she had always felt there was little value in researching whatever the humans made, and even the technological aspects were ridiculously rudimentary. However, faced with the tall gem’s sparkly eyes, she didn't reject the invitation after all. And so Demantoid left her half-done experiment and was dragged off to nest into the exquisitely large bed in the palace's main bedroom (thankfully Pyrope was outside the palace or they’ll never hear the end of her tantrum), for “maximum coziness”.

Apart from that, Hessonite also insisted on shutting every curtain in the room for “atmosphere”, leaving the scene projected on the wall the only thing noticeable. Well, and Hess’s nagging too. Demantoid’s wandering mind was brought back by Hessonite’s loud giggle, as she stared at the protagonists with joy. One of the couple grabbed the other by the arm, pulling their partner towards them, the distance between them closed as their lips met.

“What…are they doing..?”Demantoid frowned a little as she tried to comprehend.

“Oh I’m glad you asked!” Hessonite replied quickly as if she was expecting that question. “According to my grand research on several humans, THIS is one of the ultimate ways they show love for their cherished ones! They call it ‘kissing’, quite intriguing, no?”

“I assume so.”Demantoid mumbles as the characters separate reluctantly, red tinting their cheeks.

The couple moved on from the kiss, but Demantoid pondered a little about it. What a strange behavior it is to have facial sensory organs embracing to represent love, the latter a concept she still has trouble grasping, yet she felt the gesture was weird and…suitable in some way. What would it feel like to kiss someone? Demantoid thought, purely out of curiosity at first, and found herself automatically thinking of that noisy tall gem for that someone. Upon that thought, images uncontrollably played in her mind of herself and Hessonite touching lips. The small gem felt light travel to her face for a second, turning it hot. She developed a different feeling for Hessonite recently, making excuses to spend more time with her, the prideful warrior occupying her mind occasionally. Demantoid blushed once more and glanced at the other gem quickly to make sure it went unnoticed, luckily Hessonite was completely indulged in the movie. Relieved, she tried to brush the silly thoughts away.

Before Demantoid fully retrieved her idea, the movie ended and credits started playing.

“That’s all! What do you think? Weren’t their love so grand?” Facing her companion, Hessonite asked with a grin.

“Yeah, it was rather nice.” Demantoid answered sheepishly, knowing she wasn’t focused on most parts of the movie.

“Well I’m glad you enjoyed it! After all, it was chosen with care by the great Hessonite, how can it be bad at all?” The orange gem stopped to laugh at the back of her hand, before going on and on about how she enjoyed the piece. The faint light of the projector hugged her face gently, softening her features, her gem gleaming as she moved.

Demantoid found her eyes traveling across her features, landing on her lips as the thought about contacting them with her own reappeared in her brain. Hessonite must’ve felt the stare, as she turned around and smiled.

“Just as I was saying, it is the background of that time that made their love so special and courageous! But as considerate as I am, I know you might not fully understand the complexity of the human culture! So you are welcome to ask me anything about it, or in general, and you’ll find that I indeed have the answer to everything!”

The boasting made Demantoid roll her eyes a bit, as she heard herself say in a low voice “I do have a question”. The tall gem nodded in encouragement, waiting silently for her to begin.

“What…does a kiss feel like..?”Demantoid decided to mutter it out before regret could devour her and thought about brushing it off if the other didn’t catch it. Hessonite’s eyes widened, clearly not expecting such a question from the overly rational gem.

“Wuh-I-I haven’t exactly tried…” she sputtered in surprise, looking away.“But I would assume it to be rather sweet and enjoyable, and…” She glanced back at the smaller gem, greeted by her sparkling eyes. Hessonite froze mid-sentence with her mouth half open, instinctively she thought she saw a different emotion brewing in Demantoid’s eyes.

“Hessonite..”Demantoid murmured, keeping eye contact.

“Y-yes?”

“Would you like to try it with me?”

And the taller gem couldn’t help but be more surprised, not to say she doesn’t want to do it, just that she never expected Demantoid to be the first to ask for it. Hessonite realized before they had something happening, but just naturally thought she was in charge of advancing their relationship.

“W-why, you meant kissing?” After getting a firm nod from the other gem, she felt hotness rush to her face and knew she must be blushing hard.

“Then the answer is yes, I would very much love to!” She answered quickly with a huge smile, then felt a bit embarrassed about how excited she sounded.

Demantoid chuckled softly, slowly closing the distance between them, until she could hear Hessonite’s gem pulsing, and see herself in those heterochromatic eyes. She brought her hands up to cup the orange gem’s face, a cozy warmth seeping into her hands. Closing her eyes, Demantoid leaned forward to peck gently on Hessonite’s lips, quick and steady. It was experimental and she didn’t sense much, but she knew it was the right thing. Before Hessonite could start doing anything, she was dragged into another kiss, much deeper than the first one, as she clearly felt the smaller gem’s soft mouth pressing against her own, an indescribable feeling building in her gem and heating her cheeks. And so she responded by putting her arm around Demantoid, pulling them closer, letting her partner sink into her embrace. They kept kissing a little longer, before finally separating, reopening their eyes to gaze at each other’s flushed cheeks and glistening pupils.

“W-wow…that was…” Hessonite started first, her cheerful tone suggesting it was enjoyable.

Demantoid nodded in agreement, a smile appearing on her usually monotone face. She lowered her head a little, making sure her head lined up with Hessonite’s chest, and snuggled their gem together. Hessonite gasped softly as she felt Demantoid’s gem vibrate, both their gems glowing at a similar pace and everything fell silent, only the small sound of their gems beating could be faintly heard.

“Demantoid?” After a while, Hessonite still decided to break the quietness like the chatty gem she was.

“Yes.” The answer came from below, laziness tinting the usually clear voice.

“Are you interested in watching more romantic movies? I still have a lot to share, you see, and all are equally worth trying! I promise you’ll love them-” Hessonite went off again, barely able to stop herself from ending the sentence.

Demantoid sighed, lifted her head to look at the nagging gem, then learned forward to shut her mouth with a smooch. “Affirmative, I would like to watch them with you.”

[starlitangels]

St. Cloud

We all know @gingerbreadmonsters​ is The Queen of the Balance storyline fics. I’m just... campaigning for Princess apparently with all these brother fics lol 1.5k words

This jumps all over. It’s just fun

—

Elliott sat on the roof, staring up into the stars. His knees were drawn up to his chest and his arms were wrapped around them. Inside, he ignored the sounds of shouting. Dad, mostly. He was drunk again. Elliott could hear Mom talking quietly back, but Dad’s uproarious shouting drowned her out.

Aaron was staying the night at a friend’s house, leaving Elliott alone on a bad day for Dad. Normally, Aaron would bring Elliott into his room and they’d put headphones in and watch a movie on the laptop Aaron got for high school. Or they’d hide in Elliott’s room and pour over Elliott’s night sky atlases and Aaron would listen to Elliott talk about the stars. Trivia about constellations or Aaron quizzing him about stars and pretending to care about the difference between a constellation and an asterism.

But not tonight. Tonight, Elliott was alone.

He held still, staring skyward. Maybe if he held still enough, his dad wouldn’t remember he was home. As long as they didn’t hear the creaking of the roof, he wouldn’t have to hear his own name shouted.

A few warm tears fell down his face. He sniffled and looked at one of the only visible constellations he could see with the light pollution. Ursa Major. He ran through the stars as he looked at them. “Alkaid... Mizar... Alioth...Megrez... Phecda... Dubhe... Merak... Talitha... Tania Borealis and Australis...” he whispered under his breath.

At some point, the front door opened and slammed shut. Elliott huddled further back on the roof so no one would see him.

He heard his dad stumbling around the front yard and then hollering as he went down the street. When Elliott peeked, he saw Dad’s arms flailing in an attempt to keep his balance.

After a few minutes, the hollering faded into the distance. Elliott sighed. Later tonight, sometime long after midnight, the cops would probably be knocking on the door with his dad in tow after getting a call about disorderly conduct and escorting him home. Again.

He jolted as a window wrenched open nearby on the rooftop. “Elliott St. Cloud, you get your ass in this house right now,” Mom ordered, looking past the edge of Aaron’s dormer window to see him. “You are going to fall off this roof and break your leg!”

Elliott nodded and scooted toward his bedroom window. “Okay,” he said quietly.

She sighed heavily. “Why you always climb out on this roof I have no idea.”

“I like looking at the stars.”

“There aren’t enough stars to look at in this city.”

Elliott shrugged and climbed into the window. “Sorry, Mom,” he said quietly. He shut the window. He heard Mom leave Aaron’s room—but didn’t come into his.

He sat on the floor at the foot of his bed and picked up a night sky atlas, opening it to a random page. Southern Hemisphere Constellations.

Carina - The Keel

One of three constellations that used to be part of a much larger one. The larger former constellation being of the Ancient Greek ship, The Argo. Referred to as the Keel, it actually represents the main body (or hull) of the ship.

—

Smartass

I slammed the door shut harder than necessary and leaned back against it.

“Hey!” my roommate greeted, her glasses fogged up where she was boiling water for pasta. “How’s the new job going?”

I groaned, bonking my head against the back of the front door. “Fine, I guess.”

“Uh-oh. What’s wrong?” She balanced the wooden spoon she was using across the diameter of the pot and turned to me, pushing her glasses up onto the top of her head, squinting a little at me.

“I finished the generalized training this morning, and got to meet my team this afternoon.”

“Oh no. Is one of your coworkers a nightmare?”

“Coworkers? No. Boss? Yes.”

“Oh nooo! I’m so sorry!” Her eyebrows tilted sympathetically.

I heaved a sigh. “It’s fine. I don’t have to interact with him much. He’s gonna have one of the team members who’s been around awhile finish up my training but we do one-on-ones once a week.”

“What is it about him you don’t like?”

I scrunched my nose like there was a bad smell under it. “He’s got a bad attitude, for one. You should have seen the way he would barely look at me when I got led into his office by the general trainer. Like he couldn’t even give me the time of day.” I scoffed. “Aaron St. Cloud. I mean, the last name alone is an obvious sign the guy’s gonna be a prick. Who needs a two-word last name?” My roommate grunted. “Stupid St. Cloud and his stupid square jaw and his stupid arms looking like they’re gonna bust the seams of his stupid button-down and—”

My roommate’s eyebrows slowly lifted higher up her forehead while I complained. “Ohhh. You’re also mad because he’s hot. I gotcha,” she said, spinning around to check on her pasta.

“I am not mad and he is not hot,” I retorted.

I caught a glimpse of her pursing her lips as she put her glasses back in their proper place. “Uh-huh. Sure,” she said, trying to suppress sarcasm but not at all sounding convinced.

“He’s not,” I insisted.

“Yet you noticed the way his arms look in his shirt and the fact that he has a square jaw,” she remarked, taking her wooden spoon and stirring her boiling pasta.

“Even if he was hot, his attitude absolutely makes him insufferable. And he’s my boss—so it wouldn’t matter if he was or not.”

“Which he is.”

“Is not.”

My roommate laughed. “You’re really doubling down on this. Alright. Suit yourself. But I suspect that if you ever leave that place... I might need to shop around for another roommate.”

I snorted. “Oh please. I’m the one that’s always teased for being perpetually single. Having a hot boss isn’t going to change that.”

She whirled so fast she nearly flung her glasses off. “You admitted it!”

“What? No! I did not—” I swore.

She burst out laughing, throwing her head back and then doubling over.

Rolling my eyes, I pushed off the door. “I’m gonna go change. I’ll see you for dinner.”

“See you theeeeen!” she singsonged as I shut my bedroom door behind me.

“Stupid St. Cloud,” I muttered, stripping off my work shirt and shimmying out of the tight trousers I’d worn.

—

Sunshine

“St. Cloud! You get your ass back here!” I shouted, bending forward and chasing after Elliott while he took off ahead of me.

“Uh-oh! Ray of sunshine is calling me by my last name! I must be in trouble!” he teased.

“Ohhh my Goood! Go get a roooom you two!” Hayden complained, lolling his head back. “We’re supposed to be playing flag football and you two can’t pay attention to save your lives!”

“He’s cheating, Hayden!” I replied sharply, pouncing on Elliott while he laughed. He grabbed my legs to keep me stable, so I was piggyback riding him.

“I don’t know what you could possibly be talkin’ about,” Elliott teased. “I’m doing nothing of the sort! I don’t even know how to play flag football.”

“That’s why you’re cheating, dumbass!” I retorted. “You think that not knowing the rules gives you permission to break them or make up your own! I don’t even know all the rules of flag football and I know you’re being obtuse just for the sake of it!” I wrapped my arms around his neck to keep from falling off. “And I will not allow it, St. Cloud!”

Elliott laughed. “Oh I got double last-named, Hayden. I’m really in trouble now.”

Hayden rolled his eyes. “You two are both insufferable,” he complained.

“Yeah but you love us. Which is why we’re all still here.”

“Unfortunately for me, you’re both good friends,” Hayden admitted.

I laughed—and slowly climbed off of Elliott, snatching the football out of his hands and throwing it at Hayden. “We’re starting that play over, yeah?” I said.

“Like it never happened,” Hayden agreed. “This is what I get for being friends with nerds.”

I whacked him—hard—in the arm as I passed. “We are nerds, but that doesn’t mean we’re not enjoying the game.”

Hayden laughed. “I think you two are enjoying each other more than you’re enjoying the rest of us.”

I bit my lip and glanced over my shoulder at Elliott where he was tucking his beanie in his pocket. God, I loved him and had no idea what to do with it. It wasn’t fair that he was cute, hot, and funny. And smart. “Shut up, Hayden,” I muttered.

He guffawed. “Alright, St. Cloud! Let’s try this again. Take it seriously this time.”

Elliott laughed. “I make no promises!”

[lancermylove]

Chapter 4 (SFW)

➣ Pairing: Demon brothers, Royals, Solomon with fem!Reader. ➣ Warning: None ➣ Word Count: 2,784 ➣ Chapters [SFW]: [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] ➣ Chapters [N.SFW]: [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

➣ A/N: I was very tired - so tired that I almost accidentally deleted the entire draft - when I wrote this, so hopefully, it turned out well. 😅

———————————————

The faintest morning light filtered through the window blinds, but you lay awake in bed. Unable to fall asleep again, you got ready and quietly went downstairs, trying to keep the wooden floorboards creaking to a minimum, to find the living area empty. Someone had turned the fireplace off, but the early winter chill on the first level was rather refreshing. 'Hm? Is that...?' Through one of the windows, you noticed Satan pacing back and forth a short distance from the cabin.

The sky above the cabin was painted a brilliant orange as the sun slowly rose from behind the snowy mountains, casting long shadows as it ascended the sky. Satan's hair was illuminated by the sun's rays, giving it the appearance of a crown on his head. His skin was red, and his face was contorted with anger, as though he could not escape the freezing temperatures' bitter chill.

"Good morning, Satan. What's wrong?" You worriedly asked, but when he didn't reply, you continued. "You shouldn't stay out too long."

"Demons are far more powerful than frail humans," he rasped, his tone harsher than he meant, making you wince. It was unusual for him to behave that way with you, so something unexpected must have happened.

The fourth brother sighed after realizing he had taken his anger for his brother out on you. "My apologies, (y/n). After you and Beel left yesterday, Lucifer forced me to shift into his bedroom. It's bad enough that I have to live under the same roof as him, but now, I have to share a room."

"It's okay, Satan. Why did Lucifer force you to move?" You asked curiously but knew the first brother's actions always had a meaning behind them.

"Diavolo had no issues staying with Lucifer, but Barbatos said it would be better for him to stay with his royal highness," Satan fumed. "So, Lucifer asked me to vacate my room. I asked the others if they would switch with me, and Solomon only agreed. But, of course, Lucifer intervened."

The Avatar of Wrath faced you, folded his arms across his chest, and mimicked his older brother's voice. "I refuse to share a room with Solomon. His mere presence gives me a headache."

His impersonation made you chuckle, but there had to be a viable solution to his situation. "Do you want to take my room? I don't mind sharing a room with Lucifer."

"Absolutely not!" He exclaimed, eliciting a laugh from you. You expected that reaction from him but thought to ask anyway. Who were you kidding? You just wanted to see Satan's reaction to you rooming with the Avatar of Pride.

"Then, why don't you find a common ground with Lucifer? That way, you can enjoy spending time with him." You suggested in hopes that he would give in to your request. Once your words settled in his mind, Satan's face lit up. The dark aura of despair hovering around him gave way to one filled with excitement, and his arms tightly coiled around your frame.

"That's it! (Y/n), you are a genius."

"Thank you?" You mumbled, baffled by his sudden enthusiasm. "But what do you plan to do?"

"Since Lucifer can't get away from me, this is the perfect opportunity to prank him. Endlessly." He grinned and released you from his grip. Without waiting for your response, Satan powerwalked to the main door of the cabin, leaving you screaming in the background. "W-Wait! Satan, that's not what I meant."

You sighed heavily and slumped your shoulders, mumbling to yourself. "That was not what I meant, Satan. Sorry, Lucifer. I think I just made your problem worse. I will be in deep waters if Lucifer learns about this conversation."

"Good morning, (y/n). Would you kindly repeat what you said?" Barbatos whispered behind you. His sudden appearance startled you and left you wondering how he managed to stealthily approach you without emitting even a single crunch of the snow underfoot. The small curls on the corners of his lips seemed to indicate that he had knowledge of the occurrences before his appearance.

"Satan doesn't want to stay with Lucifer, and I tried to tell him to find common ground so he could enjoy his time with his older brother. But Satan interpreted that as 'prank Lucifer endlessly'," you exhaled loudly through your mouth. "If Lucifer finds out about this, I will be in trouble."

Unbeknownst to the two of you, Solomon stood near a window inside the cabin, sipping tea from a mug, and expressionlessly peered at you. Barbatos chuckled at your unfounded concern but remained silent. His dark emerald eyes analyzed every aspect of your demeanor, although his expression betrayed nothing of his thoughts or feelings. He seemed to be gauging your discomfort around him, which further heightened your unease.

"What reason could you possibly have for your discomfort?"

His direct inquiry caught you off guard, but you saw no point in concealing the truth from him as you knew he would see through your lies. You mumbled your response, your gaze fixed on your white boots layered with fresh snow, "Lucifer might have caught on. I am worried, Barbatos."

"Do not worry needlessly, (y/n)," he reassured. "Now, my dear, I implore you to return to the cabin. The weather is frigid, and I would rather you not fall ill."

"You can go ahead, and I will join you in a few minutes. I need some fresh air to clear my thoughts." You dully said.

"As you wish, but do not take longer than necessary. Then, I shall take my leave," Barbatos warmly smiled, and to your surprise, his smile reached his eyes. Was this the first time you saw his genuine smile? You couldn't remember but felt happy nevertheless.

After a while, you took his advice and headed back, only to see Mammon sneakily approaching the main door with an object hidden in his hand behind his back. Although you attempted to discern the words on the folded stack of black and blue packets, Mammon thwarted your efforts and slid them inside his jacket's pocket.

"Mammon, what are you doing?" You asked, suspecting he was up to no good. As you expected, he was startled by your presence but managed to give you a nervous smile. He was definitely up to no good, but you hoped his ill intention would not result in Lucifer severely punishing him.

"I ain't doin' anythin', and before ya ask, I'm sneakin' in 'cause I'm tryin' to avoid...Solomon," he laughed. "Are ya hungry? 'Cause I'm starvin'. Let's get breakfast!"

With those words, Mammon ran into the cabin, avoiding any other question you might have had for him. You shook your head, but before you could enter, Solomon blocked your path. "Are you alright, (y/n)? You seemed troubled."

It was evident that the sorcerer suspected you were hiding a secret and sought to hear it directly from you. Given the potential ramifications of divulging the truth, specifically with respect to Lucifer, you promptly shook your head. "It's nothing. I've to get ready to go shopping with Levi, so excuse me."

As his eyes followed you, Solomon smiled to himself. What were you hiding from him, and why were you nervous around Barbatos? But the most crucial question was: should he pry into the matter or leave it alone?

"Don't be nervous, Levi. There aren't many people around this time of the day," you chuckled and squeezed his hand slightly. Levi said nothing as he scanned the colorful store you had brought him to.

Every rack and shelf had an array of Christmas clothes in all shapes, sizes, and colors. The walls were adorned with tinsel, mistletoes, snowflake cutouts, and wreaths, creating a festive atmosphere that filled you with a sense of joy and excitement. However, the endless wave of bright colors made your eyes water. In the front right corner of the store stood a teenager with her caramel eyes glued on her phone, utterly oblivious to her surroundings. The loud music blasting from her earphones made it clear that she was lost in her own world. Not paying heed to her lack of awareness, you made your way to the center of the store.

"Hey, Levi, is this festive enough?" You asked while holding a hanger up to your shoulders. The sweater on the hanger had a multitude of colors and clashing patterns, with green reindeer and snowflakes scattered throughout.

"It looks like you purchased an entire Christmas store and glued it to the sweater. Then, found a unicorn and asked it to hurl sparkles on it. But that still wasn't enough for you, so you wrapped the sweater in green and red tinsel garland," Levi laughed.

"Descriptive," you giggled. "So, what do you think about buying ugly sweaters for everyone?"

"No way that Lucifer, Satan, Asmo, and Barbatos would wear them," Levi responded as he looked through the rack of sweaters closest to him until one caught his attention. The green sweater had an upside-down realistic pizza slice with green tinsel garland wrapped around it and a star on top. "Beel would like this and probably try to eat it."

"Oh, that's perfect of him! Then, why don't we change the theme from ugly sweaters to witty or relatable sweaters?" You smiled, proud of your quick thinking, to which he readily agreed.

The first red and green sweater you found was ideal for Asmo. The main body of the wear was a creative nod to the holiday season, playing with the idea of being on the nice or naughty list. The words "On the Nice List" were printed in large white letters, but 'Nice' was spelled in white sequins with a black background. But with one sweep of your hand, the sequins flipped to the word 'Naughty', reminding you of Asmo's playful nature.

When you showed Levi your choice, he could not stop fiddling with the sequins, fascinated by their ability to change with one touch. As he giddily flipped back and forth between nice and naughty, you found a mustard yellow sweater fitted for Belphagor. In the center was a sloth clad in a vibrant red sweater with a matching Santa hat as it dozed off on a snow-covered branch adorned with Christmas lights. The sloth's arms were intertwined in a position of contentment as the words Merry Slothmas hovered above and below in vermillion. The remainder of the empty place was adorned with deep blue Christmas trees and snowflakes and green ornaments with red swirls.

"(Y/n) look at this. Doesn't he remind you of Lucifer?" Levi laughed, holding a crimson sweater up for you. This dark red sweatshirt was accented with a black rectangular shape, which extended to the sleeves. Within the rectangular shape was a backdrop of vibrant Christmas string lights, adding a pop of color to the mostly dark outfit. In the center, the words "Is this jolly enough?" were written in the shape of a Christmas tree. With his grumpy expression, the Grinch stood beside it with a cup of coffee in his hand, wrapped in string lights, and a red Santa hat on his head.

"Lucifer as the Grinch," you whispered while imagining Lucifer as the grouch in your favorite part of the classic movie. Somehow, the Grinch's expression reminded you of the stern first brother, making you laugh. "It's perfect! I bet this is what he will look like on Christmas morning."

Your next targets were the prince and his butler. You selected a fiery crimson sweatshirt for Diavolo with white pine trees, snowflakes, and candy canes printed on it. In front of the festive designs was a vibrant green frustrated T-Rex with a Santa cap, gazing at gifts that lay beyond his stubby reach. His tiny arms tried to grasp the presents, while "T-Rex Hates Christmas" was painted upon the sweatshirt in striking white. Luckily, a sweatshirt ideal for Barbatos hung beside Diavolo's - even their sweatshirts came in a pair. Compared to the prince's, the butler's wear was far simpler - a ketchup-colored sweatshirt with random festive patterns and words in white that read "I Can Get You On The Naughty List."

As you turned around to place the sweatshirts on your 'selected' pile, you spotted Levi sitting on a nearby chair. "Levi, are you alright?" You questioned while walking closer to him.

Platonic:

"Just a little tired. I stayed up half of the night playing the game you recommended," he mumbled before giving you a hopeful look. "But if you hug me, my HP will recharge."

With a soft giggle, you opened your arms, bent down, and pulled him in a warm hug. While you rubbed his back, he nuzzled into your shoulder and exhaled with relief.

Romantic:

"Just a little tired. I stayed up half of the night playing the game you recommended," he mumbled and hesitantly wrapped his arms around your hips before burying his face in your abdomen. As he nuzzled your midsection, you coiled one arm around his shoulders and stroked his hair with the other. His hidden face held a faint but timid smile.

-----

After a little break, you and Levi returned to hunting for the rest of the sweaters. In his peripheral vision, he spotted a cat and instantly selected the apparel for Satan. The dark green sweater was decorated with white stripes and a mix of red and green snowflakes across the sleeves. In the center was an image of a perpetually grumpy cat sitting in front of a red ornament, wearing a Santa hat. The words "Jingle All The Way To Hell" were inscribed in white above and below the image.

You walked behind Levi and chuckled at the grumpy cat, recalling how Satan looked while fuming earlier in the day. Ignoring Leviathan's quizzical look, as you didn't want to upset Satan but telling Levi his issues, you searched for the perfect sweaters for Mammon and Solomon. Even though the two of you had been in the store for a while, the teen cashier had yet to notice your presence.

The black sweatshirt you selected for Mammon had a rectangle bordered by a frame of vibrant red presents and green snowflakes. Within the frame were three green checkboxes, each with a distinct white typography. The first checkbox read "Nice," the second "Naughty," and the third "Innocent until proven guilty." A red checkmark was placed neatly inside the third checkbox. Contrasting Mammon's sweatshirt was Solomon's bright red sweater that had the words "Permanently On The Naughty List And Loving Every Minute Of It" in bold white letters.

With a sigh of relief, you sat the last sweater on your selected pile and scanned the store to find Levi. Who knew finding the perfect Christmas sweater could be this exhausting? He stood in the game-related Christmas sweaters section in hopes of finding one for him and you. But you beat him to it and handed him a dark blue sweater with colorful crewmates chaotically standing in the center and "Christmas is Among Us" written below them. "How about this one?"

"Then, will you wear this one?" Levi shyly asked as he showed you a pine green sweater with Pikachu happily sitting in the center, a heart above its head, and the words "All I Want For Christmas Is...CHUUU!!!" below and above the adorable Pokemon.

Platonic Route:

Your gaze softened at his choice, and without a second thought, you threw your arms around him. His heart fluttered at feeling the warmth of your body against his.

"Aww, you're too sweet, Levi! Well, that's all the sweaters. We are officially done!" You exclaimed, releasing him from your embrace. "How about we check out, head home, and collapse on the couch?"

The third brother couldn't have been happier with your suggestion, as his body desperately needed rest.

Romantic Route:

Your face grew warm as a light, rosy flush graced your cheeks. Without hesitation, you playfully pressed your soft lips against his but quickly pulled away. However, the Avatar of Envy was not satisfied with a peck, so he leaned closer to you and gently placed a hand on the back of your head. Levi drew you closer in a heartbeat for a deep and passionate kiss. But your amorous moment was not destined to reach its destination uninterrupted as you heard giggling in the background.

The teen cashier had finally realized there were people present in the store, but much to your dismay, it was at a time when you wanted privacy. Levi broke the kiss and turned away in embarrassment while you gave her a shy grin.

"The two of you make a cute couple," she playfully remarked.

———————————————

➣  Please visit my website for the full masterlist!

[subcdkate]

31 Dec 2014 (2)

Entering the lobby of the Hotel Cecil I looked around and took in the early 20th century architecture, but after all of this time it was showing its age, a shadow of what it once was back in Los Angeles when it opened in the 1920's. Waiting for me across the room was a sleazy manager behind the front desk. This was where I had been directed, so I went along with the instructions. My main concern was how was I going to try to hide my made up feminine face with this older slobbish man, "Yeah, you want to check in? What's it going to be . . . by the hour or?" What was I suppose to answer? He just stared at me blankly and I finally pulled the cap off of my head and tugged off my big sun glasses, "Just for one night. a guest of Mr. Paul." He looked up and down and it made me feel like a whore, "Sure you don't need the room for few more days than that? We've got low weekly ." I batted my long lashes and played his game, "I saw that on the side of the building. No, just here for the January first celebration."

He looked down at a ledger on the desk and pulled an envelope from the back of it. Writing something down on the top page before handing me the envelope, but holding back the key for a moment, "It's a fifty dollar deposit. I'll keep your account active just in case you want to stay over past the first." We've got you booked in our most elegant room. It's our Presidential Suite located on the the top floor. I attempted to stifle a grin as I was thinking 'how much could the most expensive room be with that sign on the east side of the building. Low daily - weekly , and now it's also hourly'.

I was pleasantly surprised when I open the door to the suite as it was much more spacious than I had anticipated. The bedroom was set off slightly from the sitting area by a Chinese blind, and was actually quite livable for an out-of-date hotel until I looked out one of the windows and remembered I was in the rundown area of downtown. I could look down on the parking structure where my car was parked and also where the extra car key was hidden. Just seeing both from my room gave an added feeling of security if things went bad when I would make my permanent break before the end of the night.

As I checked my makeup in the mirror I started to wonder just how many women had been ducked in this room over the years, and just how much money changed hands for these sexual favors. It made me wonder what fate lays before me. Plus, weekly rates suddenly sounded like a good deal. I got lost in the fantasy for a few minutes which had getting the sissy slut in me a bit horny when the phone by the bed began ringing. It was Mr. Paul, "Gentlemen's Club, two blocks south of the hotel, it's located on the same side of the street as the Cecil. You'll need to quickly change into tonight's uniform back stage with the rest of the girls when you arrive. You have fifteen minutes to get here." Before I could say anything the phone connection was broken leaving me standing there with the phone buzzing.

As quickly as I could possibly move I grabbed the room key and exited the suite while pulling on my trusty ball cap disguise to help obscure my cover girl look. When I reached the elevators and pushed the down button nothing happened. I pressed it several times expecting the button to light up, but still nothing. I leaned in close to listen for the elevator, but again still nothing. I spotted a courtesy phone on a small table at the end of the hall and rushed over to it. When the hotel operator finally answered she explained, "Sorry, but the elevators are out of service right now for our yearly inspection."

Rushing to the door leading to the stairs, my mind was already running the numbers, ' floors, twenty seconds floor, and I already wasted more than two minutes on the elevator and still had two congested downtown blocks to still arrive ahead of the deadline. I almost immediately nearly took a tumble, so I had to slow down the pace of my decent. Fighting through the late afternoon pedestrians on the sidewalk was a battle, and of course when I finally saw the buildings sign the Gentleman's Club was located at the far end of the second block.

Upon rushing through the front door I was immediately met by Mr. Paul, who didn't look pleased with my late arrival, "What's your excuse Kate?" I quickly explained, "The elevators at the hotel were being inspected." He wouldn't even look at me as he stared at his watch, "That's still no excuse. You were thirty two seconds late. Another twenty right seconds and Fred would have done something drastic." I realized he was serious by the expression on his face, "We'll check your story. If you are telling the truth your safely on your way toward finishing your last night as our little Katie, but if you lied . . . " Mr. Paul trailed off his speech and pointed toward the doors leading from the tiny entry.

When I entered the main room of the strip club I was overwhelmed by the decorations for this party as the entire room looked like a scene of the 'Arabian Nights'. Mr. Paul walked up to my side and quietly told his little girl, "I'm hoping, whatever final decision you make, if you decide to permanently step away that you won't mind giving me a call from time to time?" I felt a smile cross my lips as I replied, "Nothing's been decided on my part, it will also depend on what everybody else wants." Mr. Paul patted my lightly on the ass and told my feminine self to get dressed, "You're no bimbo Kate, and smarter than most. Those brainless women always believe they are in complete control of the situation right up until they land on the auction block, and always thinking 'how did I wind up here?' My mind was made up now more than ever as I told myself under my breath, "And I WILL end this once and for all tonight."

[andydrysdalerogers]

The ABC's of Nick Vaughn - "L"

Pairing: Reader x Nick Vaughn (Before We Go)

Summary: Children its time to learn your ABCs. And Nick Vaughn is here to teach you the lessons. 26 glimpses in the world of you and Nick Vaughn

Warnings: S-M-U-T!!!! (under 18 please leave the chat!) descriptions of sexual activity including some themes of BDSM, loss of virginity, fluffy bits, pet name etc...

The new upload will probably be Sundays and Thursdays. Have fun kittens! Also, the tag list is open!

A/N: This one is longer than usual because of context readers. Also, I have nothing against cheerleaders, jocks, homemakers etc. This one was based on personal experience.

I do NOT give permission for my work to be translated or reposted on here or any other site, even if you give me credit. DO NOT REPOST MY FICS. Reblogs, comments, likes, and feedback ALWAYS appreciated

Divider by @firefly-graphics

Previous: K - Kink

ABC Masterlist - Main Masterlist

L - Location

Heading into Boston, you hold Nick’s hand as he drives, tracing patterns into his skin.  He looks over and smiles, bring your hand up to his mouth to place a gentle kiss. “Have I told you today that you look beautiful?” 

“Not in the last hour, no.” You giggle as you look out the window. You loved visiting Boston; Nick’s parents were great and welcoming. But this weekend was a little bit different.  It was Nick’s 20th high school reunion, and he was a little bit anxious to attend.  And he wouldn’t tell you why.  

After arriving at the Vaughn’s family home and having lunch, you went up to Nick’s old bedroom to get ready.  You set your hair into soft waves, romantic makeup on your face.  As you applied the red lipstick Nick loved so much, you saw the man in the mirror, looking a little down. “Honey, you ok?” 

He seemed to snap out of it.  “Yeah, sorry,” he shook his head. “I’m just a little lost in my thoughts.”  

“Is everything ok? You seem nervous.” You went to sit next to him, taking his hand.  

“Just not sure what to expect tonight.”  He sighed loudly. “I haven’t spoken to a lot of these people since we graduated.  I wasn’t exactly popular in high school.”  He hung his head. “I was a nerd.”  

“Everyone thinks that about themselves.”  

“No really.  Had braces, acne, bad haircut, the works.  I played in the marching band, and I had a crush on a girl.” He looked away. “Stephanie Winters. And I asked her to homecoming.  She said yes and then, when I went to pick her up, she had ditched me for Danny Adams, the running back.”  

“Oh, baby...” 

“I was humiliated and I never got to have a school dance.  I didn’t play at the football games anymore. That field just had bad memories.” He laid back on the bed.  “I don’t know if I can face those people.”  

You laid back next to him. “I think you should walk in with your head held high, don’t let anyone tear you down and show them how Professor Vaughn handles it.”  

“You’re amazing, you know that.”  

“I know,” you reply with a wink.  

“You look gorgeous.  Let’s show you off to my old classmates.” He stood up and offered his hand. You took it, your engagement ring blinking in the soft light of the room.  

** 

As you entered the gymnasium, you took in the decorations. Navy blue and gold, the school colors, but whoever put them up made them tacky AF. Streamers and balloons glitter everywhere, it looks more for a tween than an adult party. “Gosh, this is... a lot,” you whispered to Nick.  

He laughed under his breath.  “It looks like something...” he stopped. “Stephanie.” You turned to see a blonde with blue eyes walk towards you. You tightened your grip on Nick’s hand as she approached but then you really saw her.  Heavily made up, a tight dress but you could clearly see it was not made for someone her age but rather someone twenty years younger.  She was trying too hard.  “Nicky!” She squealed. You huffed as she went to hug him.  

Nick tried to dodge the hug, but she came on full force.  “Hi Stephanie.”  

“Oh em gee! It has been so long. You look so...good,” she cooed as she looked him up and down, shamelessly checking him out.  Nick grew uncomfortable and took a step back, re-grasping your hand.  

“Thanks. Stephanie, I would like to introduce to you my fiancé, YN. Sweetheart, this is Stephanie Winter.”  

“Stephanie Adams,” she corrected. “Danny and I got married right after senior year. “ 

“Wow,” Nick replied.  You cleared your throat to stop laughing.  “Congratulations, I guess.”  

Stephanie looked you over and you could clearly see she was judging you. You didn’t shrink back, you stood proud next to Nick. “Well congratulations to you as well Nicky...”  

“Please, just Nick,” he interrupted. “Are you working on your dance career Stephanie? I remember that’s what you wanted to do in high school. “ 

“Oh, no,” she waved him off, “once I had the kids, I just stayed home with them.  Danny went to work at the real estate office.  What are you doing now?” 

“Oh, well I’m a professor at NYU and YN here just made partner at her law firm.” He looked over at you adoringly. “I’m so proud of her.  And with the wedding just a few weeks away, we are just living our best life.”  

“That’s great,” you can hear the tightness in her voice.  “Well, I have to get back, planning and decorating all of this has been so tough but it was really great to see you, Nick.”  She walked away and Nick let out a low whistle.  

“What is it baby?” 

“I fucking dodge a bullet with that one.”  You both let out loud laughs as you saw Stephanie walk over to a man who was balding slightly and had the beginnings of a beer gut.   

“Let me guess, Danny?” 

“Yep.” Nick shrugged. “I have no words.”  

Dotted around the room were photos of the class from their time at Cambridge High School.  You finally found one of Nick and you smiled.  He was as described, albeit a little more puppy fat on his frame.  However, he had a major glow-up in your honest opinion.  Nick was the hottest guy here.  As Nick returned with your glass of champagne, you curled into him.  “So, where would the most popular guy in the school take his date?” 

“Under the bleachers,” Nick replied. He looked at you and could see the look in your eyes. “Why?” 

“Because I want to erase all these bad memories from the football field,” you whispered in his ear.  

Nick swallowed and took your glass.  He set it down on the table and walked you out to the field.  He held your hand until you got to the field and then spun you around, pinning you to the chain link fence. He kissed you hard, hands in your hair until one drifted down to your thigh. He hiked your leg to his waist, allowing him to press his growing bulge right over your heat. “Nicky,” you moaned.  

“God, I love it when you say my name like that.  Only you baby, only you,” he said between rolls of his hips into you.  

You nipped his chin with kisses and down his neck.  “I thought we were supposed to be under the bleachers?” 

“Fuck that, I'll take you on the bleachers.” He swiftly took off his coat and laid it down before lowering you on top of it.  He spread your legs and found the scrap of fabric you called panties already wet from his kisses and touches. He pulled them down and pushed your skirt up more, exposing you to the cool air.  He quickly pushed his pants and boxers down, freeing his length and running the tip through your folds. “Fucking soaked baby. Such a good girl for me.”  He slowly pushed in, both of you moaning in relief.  

Nick started to fuck you, hard, taking out his emotions of seeing old friends and bitch cheerleaders on you.  You went with it, holding onto the back of the bleachers as he pounded into you.  He wished he could have seen your breast bouncing with each thrust but that would have to be later. He started to feel the tell-tale signs that you were close.  “C’mon baby, fuck, squeezing me so hard.  God, I love this pussy.” He changed the angle of your body and he hit that spot inside perfectly.  

“Nicky, fuck, gonna cum. So good, feel so good.”  

“Let go my sweetheart.  Cum for me.”  

The release was euphoric, sending you into another world as Nick followed suit and released ropes of hot cum inside you.  He slowed and laid on top of you for a moment.  

“The football field is amazing. So green,” he commented, making both of you laugh.  Nick took out a handkerchief and cleaned you gently before pulling your panties back on.  He redid his pants and then draped his jacket over your shoulders.  You walked back to the school where Stephanie was outside, smoking a cigarette.  She watched you approach, wrapped in each other.  

“And what were you two...” she trailed off as she could see your red lipstick all over Nick’s face and neck.  Your hair was a little less soft and more freshly fucked.  

“Oh, Nicky was just showing me the football field.  You know, reminiscing about his band days, and telling me about all the dreams he had about the bleachers,” you commented in a sugary sweet tone that was way more of a warming to her. You wrapped your body closer to Nick as you could get while not being naked.   

Nick chuckled at your subtle show of possessiveness.  “I think we are going to take off.  It was nice seeing you, Stephanie.  Good luck with everything.”  

Next

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[crystalninjaphoenix]

Feel free to skip past these requests! Yeah... I have two but you don't have to to them both, if any. They're both for your Marvin in the swap au... I've been seeing him requested a lot, he's a pretty cool character! But does Marvin from your swap au have a leg injury? If so can we get a whump fic of it hurting him real bad (I know what that's like) or, for another idea. He got really sick as a kid, right? Could we get a fic of young Marv battling with the illness? Thank you!

(It's funny that you say he's been requested "a lot," because the last request I got was the first one I had in, like, a year or more. And the first one I got that was completely unprompted. XD Not that I mind! I love getting requests—though if I get too many in the future I might get overwhelmed. Right now, though, I love it :D)

(Anyway, Switch!Marvin doesn't have a leg injury. I mean, he does get one in the main story, but he there wasn't an injury that led to his trouble walking. That was entirely caused by the sickness, which left him with constant fatigue and muscle weakness. So that's the request I'll be fulfilling ^-^ )

(Since he's a kid in this prompt, warning for suffering of a child, as well as hospitalization. He did not have a good time :( )

The lady in white told him that he was lucky, but Marvin really didn’t feel lucky. He didn’t feel anything except terrible. His head hurt, his stomach hurt, and he was really tired but he couldn’t get to sleep. He didn’t like this hospital place. The long room was open, and the other kids and grown-ups in the beds around him scared him every time they coughed or spoke without warning.

“When can I go home?” he asked one of the ladies in white who often walked around the hospital. He thought maybe they were nuns, but weren’t nuns supposed to wear black, not white?

She didn’t answer at first, just looked at him. Then she sighed. “In a few days, lad,” she said. “Maybe a week at most.”

“Oh.” Marvin grabbed the edge of the blanket, twisting it in his hands. “C-can I... can I go home now?”

“No, I’m sorry. You’re still ill.”

He knew that. But he didn’t understand why he couldn’t go home and have the doctor come see him. It was so loud and big here. At home, he could be alone, with Mammy and Daddy and no one else. He could sleep in a bed with blankets that didn’t make his skin crawl, in a room where there wouldn’t be any bright lights on all the time.

Maybe he was just too sick. Maybe it would be too hard for Mammy and Daddy, who were sick, too. They hadn’t left their room in a couple days, not answering his calls. He wanted so badly to go get them, but it was hard to move. His body wouldn’t listen to what his thoughts were saying. He remembered sitting up a little, but not being able to stand. He remembered falling out of bed onto the hard wooden floor and trying desperately to pull himself up, shouting for his parents to come help. They didn’t, though. There wasn’t even a shout from their bedroom across the hall. He remembered struggling to get into bed and crying, screaming for them to at least answer.

In the end, it wasn’t his parents who came for him. It was Granmam, who’d been coming down for a visit, worried about the family’s health. She sat with him, hushed him, told him it was all going to be alright. He just kept crying. The sobs hurt his throat, but he couldn’t stop. Granmam told him she would check on his parents. She went off, and didn’t come back for a while. When she returned, she looked really pale. And again, she told him it was going to be alright, but in a different sort of voice now.

Marvin didn’t understand what that was all about, but Granmam promised him he was going to get better. He would just have to stay in the hospital for a while. That was a few days ago. He couldn’t remember how many exactly.

“Where’s my mam and dad?” he asked the lady in white next time she came around.

“Your... oh.” The lady in white looked shocked. “Well, I t’ink you should ask your grandmother about t’at.”

“T’en where—” A bout of coughing interrupted him. Marvin rolled over to his side, waiting for it to stop. Each cough felt like he was hacking up his inside parts, and they just kept coming.

The lady in white waited patiently for him to stop. “Here.” She handed him a handkerchief. “You shoul' cover your mouth when you cough. T’ey say it will stop other people from getting sick.”

Marvin immediately pressed the handkerchief to his mouth. It felt like more coughs were rattling around in his chest, but they didn’t fly up his throat. “Where’s Granmam?” he asked, voice slightly muffled.

“You’ll be able t’see her when ye can leave the hospital,” the lady said patiently.

“Can I leave now?”

“No, I’m sorry. You’re still very unwell.”

Marvin nodded. He knew that. He knew that. But he wanted to go home. Tears welled up in his eyes.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” the lady said gently. “It’ll all be alrigh’, I promise.”

Everyone kept saying that. But it didn’t feel alright. It didn’t feel like it was anything but terrible.